Requiem of Phantoms
by ciel blackblood
Summary: "You're dying, you know that right?" she asked. "Yes," he replied. Such was his answer, short, crisp, light, and straight to the point. He found no meaning in any more meaningless semantics; after all, he could finally return to her side. Even if she doesn't remember him, even if she doesn't know him, he would return and he would stay with her forevermore.
1. Prologue

"You're dying. You know that right?"

"I know," was all he said in reply.

This was the only sign that he had acknowledged the one speaking to him. He did not move his head or glance to the corner of his eyes; knowing that even if he did, he wouldn't find anyone there. Such was his partner—she was everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.

Ever fleeting and never still; this was her nature.

"So, what will you do now? The world as you know it has been destroyed—no thanks to you."

Yes. He had destroyed the world. Numerous countries lay ruined beneath his feet. Millions of people, gone by his hand; friend or foe, none were spared in his war against the world.

"Do you hate me?" he asked. In response, all he got was a laugh—a laugh so exquisite that it was comparable to the tinkling of silver bells.

"Hate you? No, no, I don't hate you at all. In fact, I may have loved you more for it."

She shook her head at such a ridiculous question. She had already done everything that he had since her conception thus there is no need for hate. What he had done was nothing compared to the atrocities she had ordered others to do in the past.

More importantly…

"You may have destroyed countries, reaped countless lives, and brought forth the apocalypse, in the end, you have also made the world anew."

And no truer words have been spoken.

"You wiped the slate clean, so to speak. With the world's destruction humans will have to start over and progress will have to renew. This will also usher an Age of Peace—maybe create another Age of Gods! So no, I do not hate you for you have merely completed one of my plans. Such is the collective will of humanity."

He could practically hear the smirk in her voice as she said thus.

An exasperated sigh escaped his bloody lips as he said, "Is that so, Alaya?"

Alaya, the Will of Humanity, appeared sitting atop the broken piece of concrete that he had been leaning on. Her ever changing blob of a form began to stabilize in front of him. The Will of Humanity, ever since it had first appeared before him all those years ago, had always preferred a female form. The form that she took right now was one familiar to him.

Lustrous hair of midnight black fell towards her shapely bottom. Succulent pink lips were curved into a smile. Her voluptuous and perfectly proportioned body was covered by a beautiful yet modest white dress that exposed the small of her back and shoulders while slippers of the finest design and make adorned her feet. Looking up to her angelic face, he could not help but stare into her eyes. Her eyes, which admittedly were his favorite part of her, were still the same shade of cerulean blue that he remembered.

This was the form of the person he loved the most—of the person he would gladly die for… of the person who died for him. And the fact that she—Alaya—took her form, it was unforgivable. Rage bubbled beneath his skin as an unbridled growl escaped his lips.

"Now, now, don't get testy Maheshvara—fitting name don't you think?—I merely took the form of your heart's desire."

Hearing that, he calmed his rage. If that was all that she had done, then it was understandable. After all, he sorely wished to return to her side; to his home—to his Miyuki. Patiently, Alaya waited for him this God of Destruction to calm his rage knowing and acknowledging that, with an instant, she would be utterly and completely be erased from existence. His breathing slowed and became even.

Good. He was calm.

"You know that your Restoration won't work anymore right?"

He resisted the urge to snark and grunted out a 'Yes' before more blood climbed up his throat

"You have 10 minutes left to live at most. So what will it be, Tatsuya-kun? Will you make a contract with me?"

"No." instantly he answered.

"No?" Alaya parroted back, confused.

"No."

Such was his answer. Strong and firm with more than a hint of steel hidden behind it. He had known that it would come to this since she asked her first question.

"Why? Don't you want to live?" Alaya asked, puzzled with the instant rejection.

"No. I don't"

"… Can you at least tell me why?"

Her form's eyes pierced through Tatsuya's as she demanded an explanation with no more than a small amount of frustration lacing her words after failing to comprehend why he would deny another chance to live again.

He broke eye contact with her, facing the slowly darkening sky before he lost himself in memories. Memories of his everyday together with his most beloved. Tatsuya did not answer her; utterly lost in his own memories he had forgotten her existence.

It was at this point that the Will of Humanity began to understand.

Eyes that once terrified Alaya were filled with so much love, so much sorrow it was heartbreaking. For the first time since her conception, Alaya felt pity.

Tatsuya wanted to die.

He wanted to join his beloved Miyuki on wherever she was. He wanted to see her, to touch her, to hold her hand, to smell her hair; he wanted to be one with her.

But… alas, it was impossible.

The cycle of reincarnation was random—improbable. The chance for the two of them to be together was merely one in a trillion ad infinitum. It was because of this, because he understood this that he was filled with so much sorrow; enough to make even the seven princes of hell weep for him.

Ah, now she understands.

Love.

Tatsuya's love for Miyuki was so that he was willing to follow her into the reincarnation cycle for that single improbable chance that the two of them may be together again.

A slight silence ensued between the two of them; one lost in times long past, another in contemplation. It was after a few minutes that Alaya broke the silence.

"I can bring you two together, if that is what you wish."

Silent still, all that indicated that he had heard her was the widening of his eyes. He was in disbelief—no, it was more like he didn't want to believe. Dare not believe that he could still reach her.

Slowly, he turned towards the personification of the Will of Humanity and asked: "How…?"

It was hopeful.

It was pleading.

So much so that Alaya found no will to deny him anything that he may have wished for right now.

"I can remove you and Miyuki from this world's Reincarnation Cycle and move you to another world's wheel. I can also pair the two of you for Tranmigration until you both decide to ascend to the Pure World or the Root as you may call it."

Unshed tears of joy glimmered in his eyes as hes heart leapt for joy and hope. Leaping down from her perch, the Will of Humanity stood before the living God of Destruction.

"…Why? Why would you do this?" Tatsuya questioned.

For one who had been born with no humanity, forged into a monster and grew to be a dragon that devoured and usurped the very gods themselves, his voice right now was so frail. So frail that Alaya had to question if he had somehow obtained that which he was not born with.

"Simple," she answered. Turning her back to him and closing her eyes, she said: "You can think of this as your reward."

"Reward?"

"Un. You did help me advance my plan, Mahesvara, and this Alaya knows when to return favors you know."

Once again, Tatsuya grew silent. He couldn't hold it back now. His heart and pulse quickened as hope rapidly bloomed in his chest. He was in so much joy that he was sure that his face was glowing.

While he was celebrating, he did not notice Alaya's dumbfounded expression. Mouth slightly open and eyes widened in disbelief and shone with something that one couldn't place, she continued to stare at a smiling Tatsuya. Yes, a smiling Tatsuya.

It was a smile of pure joy. It was simply angelic in how innocent and pure it was. It was one filled with happiness and hope and it was beautiful. Such was its beauty that Alaya lost herself in it. She had already lost count of how many times her 'heart' skipped a beat.

Humanity looks good on him, she thought.

It took a while for her to school her features, but school her features she did.

"58 seconds left. So what will it be, Tatsuya? Will you accept my gift?"

It was with no hesitation that he answered: "Yes. A thousand times, yes."

Golden motes of light began to gather around them. They came everywhere; from the ground, from the rocks, from the remaining plant life that survived his war, even from his own wounded and battered body. They came and bathed the world around him in benevolent golden light.

They gathered between the two of them; between the two living and personified gods of humanity. The lights gathered, compressing themselves into a radiant orb that shone viciously yet in no way or form harmed his eyes. A runic circle erupted beneath Alaya and Tatsuya with the two of them at its center.

For a while, they did nothing but stare at each other.

"Don't you have anything to say? A goodbye to the World perhaps?" she asked.

"No, I have nothing left to say. I have said it all before I began this war; all my goodbyes, all my lamentations, so there is no need to speak anymore." He answered.

"I see. Very well then, I guess this is goodbye Shiba—no, Yotsuba Tatsuya."

The orb of golden light began to spin inwards—compressing itself further and the runic circle began to activate its functions.

"This may be our last encounter for a while, so, may you live a happy life in the next life. See you next time, Mahesvara."

"Ah. See you next time, Will of Humanity." He said.

The world exploded in gold. The next thing he heard was: _"Step away from the Jinchurikki, Namikaze Minato."_

 **AN: So hello! This is Cielblackblood with his first fanfic! This is my first story Requiem of Phantoms: a story with romance, drama, and a whole lot of action! I don't really have much to say for the author's corner so please, READ! LIKE! REVIEW!**

 **~PEACE!~**


	2. Family

The daily buzz of the market entered his ears as he continued his daily stroll. He saw mothers haggling with store vendors. He saw vendors peddling their wares. He even saw the odd thief stealthily snatching purses and food. Stealthy for civilians they may be, but their grabby hands did not escape the eyes of shinobi. But those shinobi did nothing either way.

Ah, _Shinobi_.

He truly could never get over the word. Don't get him wrong, he was perfectly familiar and aware of the meaning of the word considering that he was once considered as one. What he found disconcerting about the word was what was connected with it.

6 years.

6 year old Tatsuya mulled over this as he continued to walk amongst the populace of the village of Konoha.

 _Konohagakure no Sato_.

This village name that was completely missing from the world map truly struck home that he was really in another world. Another world that he had spent 6 years in; another world that he was given another chance in.

"Good morning, Naruto-sama!"

A man in his early thirties greeted even as he struggled with the crates of vegetables he was carrying. Tatsuya returned his greeting with a smile and a wave of his hand. This was another thing.

 _Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto._

This was his name; not Tatsuya, not Mahesvara. Naruto. This was the name he was given ever since Alaya reincarnated him in this world—a world of Shinobi and Chakra.

Six years ago, he had accepted Alaya's reward. Six years ago he had awakened to this world and Tatsuya—no, Naruto—could definitely say that he enjoyed those six years. He loved his family; a father, a mother, and an elder twin sister that would fuss over him. He loved being able to live a normal (not-so-normal) life.

He walked among the throes of villagers milling about while returning the greetings that were given to him. Even though he was a toddler by normal circumstances, to be allowed to wander the village by his lonesome, it should have been worrisome but the whole village of Konoha knew that he wasn't exactly normal. He was more mature and stronger beyond his years.

As he continued to walk along, he caught sight of a flash of red among the crowd. It was a very familiar shade of red and it was one that he could only associate to two people. Quickly, Naruto followed it twisting and turning away from the motley of people before him.

"Mother." Naruto greeted the owner of that crown of red as he came beside her.

"Oh hello, Naruto-kun." She greeted back.

Uzumaki Kushina was a stunning and beautiful woman of average height; somewhere between 5'5" and 5'7". Her waist length hair was not so dark a shade of red to be called crimson nor was it to light and bright to be called scarlet. An apt description for it would be wine red. And though she had already undergone two childbirths, she still possessed a body that was the envy of women and the dream of men. Facing her son, Kushina's angelic face and brilliant purple eyes held great amounts of motherly affection and love.

"How are you, Naruto-kun? Did you enjoy your walk?" she asked.

"Un. I did," he said. "But may I help you with those mother?"

Naruto watched as his mother gave an enthusiastic nod before moving to take one of the bags she held in her arms.

Normally, Kushina is a loud and rambunctious individual, but whenever she was around her son—her only son—she calms down considerably. It is also to note that whenever she was calm Kushina displayed a level of love and affection that her husband, Minato, and their daughter, Natsumi, have never seen before.

It always baffled them upon how the normally hyperactive Kushina be so calm in the presence of her son; of how her entire personality could be so different when she was around Naruto. It truly is always so confusing and yet whenever she was asked how she can manage such a feat Kushina would only answer such: love.

So great was her love for her son that she was willing to change her entire person for him. So great was her love that even she herself was mystified but it did not matter—not to her anyway. Her love for her son, for her Naruto, surpassed any that she had felt before; it surpassed even the similar love she felt for her eldest daughter, Natsumi, his twin sister, when she first held her in her arms.

"Mother, what are these for? I distinctly remember that we still have food in the fridge." Naruto asked.

He was genuinely curious. They still had enough for a week left—that is, unless of course, their older brother in all but blood and his elder sister by two minutes have already eaten them all. It was not commonly known but Kakashi and Natsumi were big eaters.

"Huhuhu," It was a beautiful laugh. One that reminded him of spring and sunrise.

Kushina cast her knowing eyes upon her still small and precious child. Naruto saw her expression and soon, a semi-uncomfortable expression made its way onto his face.

Did she read my mind perhaps, he thought.

"Of course not Naruto-kun. I did not read your mind." His eyes widened at this and Kushina's eyes shone with love, affection and repressed amusement.

"Ufufufu. These, Naruto-kun, are for the little get-together us mother's have at your Aunty Mikoto's house."

"Ah, yes. Mother did say something like that is going to happen this morning, right?" Naruto nodded in understanding as he asked her for affirmation.

"That's right Naru-chan," ignoring the indignant cry of 'don't call me Naru-chan', Kushina continued: "Would you like to come with mama? The others would also like to see you."

"No." Naruto rejected.

"No? Why?"

"Because, whenever I go with you they always pinch my cheeks. It hurts and it's annoying."

Seeing her son's normally calm and placid look break with a cute pout, Kushina couldn't help but laugh softly. Hearing that, Naruto's pout slowly washed away and was replaced with a soft smile. He really loved his mother's laugh for not only did it bring forth the pleasant memories of his past, of good times—unhurried, calm, content and happy—but they were also a promise.

It was a promise that everything was alright and that it would continue to be so for a long time.

' _I wonder, would this be the feeling of receiving maternal love? This happiness…'_

And with that thought both mother and son continued to walk towards the son's favorite aunt's house.

 **Part 2**

"Haa—suu~…. Haa—suu~"

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

Breathe in. Breathe out. And once again, repeat.

The scratching of pen on paper and the incessant ticking of the clock was the only thing he could hear

within this silent room. The room was slightly colder than usual as evidenced by the sight of his breath in front of his face.

He could blame this on the fact that it was in the middle of January, or he could blame this on the speculation that someone set the airconditioner thermostat lower than usual.

It didn't matter.

With a renewed vigor, partly to stave of a small chill and mostly so that he could finally finish this infernal stack of paper, Namikaze Minato worked the pen in his hand.

Skritch skritch skritch, did the pen go. His eyes never left the piece of paper that would occupy his hand in the fear that something wrong may slip pass by him. At that thought, Minato narrowed his eyes. He would not allow that. Not only would that cause potential problems for his village, but that would also increase his current workload for trying to fix whatever that problem is!

That is simply unforgivable!

Feeling his eyes finally get tired after the countless hours of staring at the same shade of white and the crisscross of black on them, Minato closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair—eliciting a groan from said furniture.

Fingers rubbing on closed eyelids, Minato let out a sigh of exhaustion. He had started on this pile of yesterday's paperwork yet it did not seem to be decreasing. Resting his hand on the chair's armrest, he scanned his desk and his eyes came unbidden upon an object that he never dared move from there.

His family picture.

He smiled. Minato could perfectly remember the day this picture was taken. It was two weeks before when the day was warm; a perfect temperature, not too hot, nor too cold. It was taken among the picturesque backdrop of his wife's precious garden and with nary a single cloud in sight.

There he stood beside his beautiful wife who was wearing a royal purple kimono with koi fish patterns and her hair tied into a stylish bun. Minato himself was dressed in his usual shinobi ensemble and hokage robes with a wide grin plastered on his face. In front of him was his 6 year old daughter, Natsumi, in a lively pink kimono whose red hair—like her mother—was tied into an askewed ponytail with the same grin on her lips; sapphire eyes closed as she faced the camera.

It was then when he moved his attention to his daughter's left that his mind began to move.

Red was the color of the kimono top that he wore with the regular black hakama to accompany with it. Shoulder length blonde hair that shined like woven threads of pure gold (so unlike his, Minato mused) was tied into a short ponytail. Skin more pale than the glowing moon served to give him more of an ethereal quality.

He looked more like a spirit than a being of flesh and blood.

Bright pools of amethyst that shone with gentle light showed itself from beneath golden bangs. The soft smile on his face merely amplified the already noble aura that surrounded him.

Such was his son. Such was Naruto. His son may not know of it but he is already being called as Konoha's Prince by both civilians and shinobi alike. He did not know if he should be proud or worried that as only a 6 year old child, women were already falling for him.

Nonetheless, he was proud of his son.

There was only one thing that bothered Minato about Naruto:

He did not know what to think of his son.

When people would hear of this whenever he would decide to share this with others he would receive the same baffled expressions.

" _What do you mean you don't know what to think of your son? You're his father aren't you?"_ they would often say, but they didn't understand.

He bets other parents don't have this kind of problem. He knew his son was hiding something from him. He did not get to have the Hokage position without having to earn it you know? Naruto was too different from other children. He could be called a genius; a once in a millenium prodigy even! He could still remember when Naruto was just 6 months old, he had instinctively used chakra. It was not just pure chakra either, he had somehow transformed it into a chakra nature—wind to be precise.

And wasn't that a surprise!

On a side-note, it had taken exactly 2 hours to pry Kushina off of Naruto to prevent him from being suffocated to death via boobs and hugs.

"Well, that's enough for a break I guess." He said.

Sitting up, he returned his attention towards his duty as the hokage of konoha and yet, he could not focus. Even when he tried, his mind went back to his son.

It truly bothered him.

For Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, Kiiroi Senkou, not knowing his son was a sin. A sin that could not be forgiven. He had lived as an orphan for most of his life and so, he wished to give to his children the things that he did not receive when he was but their age. He wanted to give them the complete love of a father.

And the problem of not truly knowing his son means that he had not done his job as a parent perfectly! Let it be known that Namikaze Minato did not accept anything less than perfection out of himself.

' _Stop. This is getting you nowhere. You still have a job to fulfill, so focus!'_ he mentally chided himself.

Returning his gaze upon the piece of paper that was currently in his hand, Minato had finally noticed what it was.

An invitation.

Running the calculations inside his head, he concluded any and all scenarios that he may have to face, but when he spotted the picture frame from outside his peripherals, all those calculations came crashing down and were replaced with newer thoughts.

"Hmm. Yes, this can be done. Maybe this can even become a family vacation! I just have to run this by Kushina first."

With renewed vigour, the leaf's beloved fourth went over his work to ensure that he would be finished in time for dinner.

After all, they were having ramen for tonight.

 **Part 3**

Right fist propelled forward with the speed of a bullet as his left foot stepped forward to support his body as he did an overhead kick. In quick succession, with the right barely even touching the ground, he spun and gave high heel kick with his left. If there were a human opponent in front of him, it would have been a crippling blow what with it hitting the temple. Smoothly settling in in an another stance, he moved with such grace and ability that it would put most people who would dare call themselves masters to shame.

Her brother had already been at this for four hours; flowing from kata to kata. Uzumaki-Namikaze Natsumi had at first followed her twin and did katas of her own—katas from her mother's Uzuken style of taijutsu—that she had been taught with while Naruto did his own. She had finished her set two hours ago yet her beloved brother still went through his own.

She watched, transfixed, as her brother flawlessly move from punch to punch, from kick to kick, to executing the most complicated of combos. It was at times like these that she saw what the people of Konoha and her own parents call a true prodigy.

To Natsumi, her brother would always be the kind, bright, caring, generous, loving, and charismatic (not that she knew what the word meant) little brother to her. In short, he was the perfect brother.

But it was now that she could see the other side that her beloved little brother usually hid. This was the face of a genius.

Left fist going for the uppercut followed by an elbow to the cheek of the imaginary opponent smoothly flowing to a double palm thrust then a low kick quickly replaced a low elbow thrust. Such moves were done to perfection that they looked like they were done in a single motion, but Natsumi knew better.

These movements that her brother performed were all just taken and mashed haphazardly by her brother. It had all the elements of their father's Hummingbird style, to the Hyuuga clan's juuken, to the Uchiha clan's interceptor fist, to that weird-guy-in-green-spandex-and-bolw -cut's goken, and other more styles that her brother may have seen used.

It was a testament to her beloved little brother's genius that he managed to match them all perfectly and flawlessly that it seemed to look as though it were not a martial art but a dance.

"Ne, ne, Naru-kun, are you done yet?"

And yet, for all the grace, poise, and nobility that her brother's 'dance' exuded, Natsumi was bored.

"Just a few more minutes, Natsu-chan." Naruto replied.

"Eh!?" Natsumi whined, "That's what you said a while ago too, 'ttebane!"

She wanted to play with her beloved brother dammit! And for all the beauty that his style had that masked its brutal efficiency, it would still get boring if all she could do was watch!

Sigh. "Fine, fine. Just give me the towel and we can go play."

He had been getting tired anyway so maybe a break from his usual routine would relax him.

Natsumi let out an exuberant cry of joy. Finally, finally! She can spend some quality time with her beloved brother! Quickly, she ran towards their home's bathroom—they were currently in the backyard—and fetched a towel then she began helping him wipe the small sheen of sweat off.

"H-hey! I can do this myself, you know?" in a rare fit of embarrassment, Naruto said as he tried to wretch control of the the cloth that was pressed upon his brow.

"Just let me help you, Naru-kun," Natsumi said, "this way, we can do it faster!"

A few more seconds of failing persuasion, Naruto had let her do as she wanted, and this made her happy. She had always loved taking care of her brother; giving all her attention to him, doting on him, and generally loving him.

Natsumi's little brother had always been more mature than her that it felt like their roles were reversed. Truly, this was how she felt but it was at times like this, times where he allowed her to dote on him that she felt like she really was doing her job as the elder sister/twin.

"A~nd, done!" Natsumi exclaimed.

"Are you satisfied now, Natsu-chan?" a sigh of exasperation escaped her beloved little brother's mouth even as his lips twitched into a small smile.

"Yup!" the Uzumaki-Namikaze family's bright summer said as she broke out into a grin of happiness. Without delay, she grabbed hold of her Naruto's wrist and pulled him into her preferred destination.

"W-waa~, matte Natsumi!"

She delibirately ignored her precious twin's cry of indignation as she continued to string him along. Their destination? The park closest to their compound. Though that was their place of choice, the two twins (more specifically, Natsumi), couldn't help but look at the various shops and stalls that littered the sidewalks and streets of Konoha.

One shop in particular caught her attention.

It was a jewelry store. She was looking at a displayed necklace right next to a gorgeous set of earings by the window. The necklace itself was simple yet it had a certain flair and elegance that she could not comprehend. A small serpent hooped into a shape similar to that of the number eight lying on its side with its head and tail curved towards the center. Within the golden serpent's mouth was a small spherical, pure white gem that had been glowing inexplicably since the beginning. At its very top was a small clawed foot that had gripped tightly to a brightly polished platinum chain.

Turning around, Natsumi wished to bring her brother's attention to her and ask him his opinion of the jewelry. Yet, as she turned, she noticed the different gazes turned to the both of them.

She saw both men and women cast their eyes upon them with varying emotions. Some of those gazes made her uncomfortable, but as long as her beloved brother stood by her side, she could honestly say that those looks were beneath trash; thus she could continue ignoring them.

Besides, its not like she could actually blame them for staring. Though young, Natsumi knew that she and her brother were what one could call the epitome of the male and female population. Her heart shaped face, large almond shaped sapphire orbs, porcelain white skin, and exotic red tresses just begged attention. While her brother on the other hand simply exuded the feeling of a near yet unreachable dream. He was a transient dream what with his golden silk like hair that was tied into a ponytail reaching the collar of his simple white shirt, and his gentle yet firm amethyst eyes.

But she did not like it.

Natsumi could easily ignore the gazes turned to her, but she could never ignore the gazes that were being targeted at towards her little brother. Especially those that came from the women. It did not matter if it were young or adult, they all had the same spark in their eyes.

And those looks twisted her heart and insides.

"Is something wrong Natsu-chan?" Naruto asked, slightly worried as she had been staring into the crowd for some time now.

"No, it's nothing, Naru-kun."

Shaking her head, Natsumi grabbed hold of her brother's hand and dragged him off towards the park. If Naruto noticed the tightening of her hand, then he did not show it. Quick on their feet they continued their journey but the dear elder sister could not help but look at the few women that they passed by.

They still possessed the same hateful spark.

Deep, dark emotions welled up from the bottom of her belly and Natsumi tried to hide her ever darkening eyes behind her rather long fringes. She hated it. That spark. That unknown emotion within those… those… _thieve's_ eyes. She kept her gaze forward then, trying not to show her darkening emotions.

She hated the way their hungry eyes trailed over her brother's body. She hated how they lingered upon his face. She hated how they sometimes become empty as they began to think of something else even as they continued to trail her beloved Naruto. She hated the fact that their faces would sometimes become pink or even erupt into red at the mere sight of her brother. She hated it.

hatehatehatehatehate _HateHateHateHateHateHateHateHateHateHate_ **HATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATE** _ **HATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATE!**_ _ **!**_!

Her bright sapphire gems became as empty as the void and a fierce scowl made its way onto her face. Natsumi glared at any and all that would stare at _HER_ brother, scaring them all away and sending them running with some merely standing on shaky legs and ashen faces as she unknowingly leaked a concentrated amount of killing intent upon her targets.

' _Naru-kun. My Naruto-kun. HE. IS. MINE.'_

 **AN: This is the first official chapter of requiem of phantoms. All I want to say is that this Naruto will be OOC. So please do not kill me~! In all honesty though, I intend for this story to deviate so horribly out of cannon storyline by mixing various other materials from different anime, light novels, manga, and last but not the least, games. As for what source materials I would use, that would be a secret~. I have no intention of spoiling the fun of the guessing game that would be happening later on.**

 **Ciel Blackblood: signing off. Ciao!**


	3. Party pt1

**Chapter 2**

Darkness. If one were to think about it, one could say that darkness was synonymous with evil.

"I have arrived at the designated location."

"…"

For one Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, that wasn't the case.

"Yes, I find it acceptable. As for dinner, I haven't partaken of it yet."

"…"

If one were to look at it at a different perspective, darkness could be seen as another form of light. One could even say that it is the truth personified.

"Is this really the time for teasing?"

"…"

The brightest light is the one that blinds us to the lies and hypocrisies that cover the world. It is the one that covers the darkness that is the truth; this is what distracts us to reality for what is the light but an untrue fantasy? It is what covers our eyes to the truth that rubs itself onto our faces.

"No, it is not that I do not enjoy having small talk, it is more that I have a mission right now."

"…"

Indeed. That is what Naruto wholeheartedly believed in, but more importantly, it was his home. He was born in darkness. He lived in darkness. He _breathed_ darkness. So he loved and was at home in darkness. In a way, it was his safety blanket. It was the darkness that protected him from danger.

"Yes, you can consider this as good as done."

"…"

No… the darkness was what protected _danger_ from _him_.

"…"

"I love you too, Mother."

In this darkened room where no light was permitted to linger much less enter, the light of a communication array died and gave way to the foreboding emptiness as its user denied it his chakra. Slowly did he push his body to an upright position from leaning on the headboard of his king sized bed. Walking off, he took off his current attire as he entered the shower.

 ***Squee***

Did the shower knob go as he turned it to let go of the cold water it held back; letting it hit his fit body and run down the contours of his muscles.

8 years have passed since he first came to this world, and in that time his 'Tatsuya' had become 'Naruto' and he had found a family that he found worthy to love and protect. In his eight years here, in this world he had found many things that he did not get the chance nor the privilege to experience in his previous world. Though there is one thing that death and transference between two different worlds could not erase-battle.

It is who he is; and it is who he will always be. Tatsuya was born, bred and made as a weapon. He was forged to be the ultimate shield and sword for his primary. As Naruto it was the same. He was born without humanity and could only be human to three people.

His mother, Kushina.

His twin sister, Natsumi.

And last but never least, his beloved Miyuki and whoever was her reincarnation.

He was the dragon that devoured and usurped the gods, and though he would deny it with every fiber of his being, Naruto was a proud person. He would not take kindly to others ordering him and manipulating him. In fact, he would obliterate a person who would dare do so to him.

For those aforementioned three though, that dragon would willingly bend knee. He would gladly give his obedience to those three and he would never complain.

Turning the knob once more, the fall of water tapered to a stop. Done with his shower time, toweling off the excess water, he moved towards the closet that kept his clothes; those few that he brought for this off the record mission. Picking up his chosen wardrobe, Naruto quickly dressed himself.

It was an all black ensemble. He was dressed in a skintight black long-sleeved shirt, coupled with a same shade cargo pants tucked into black combat boots. Black medical tape wrapped his hands up to his elbows and the same was found on his legs covering his ankles up to his shins and some were found on his thighs. A utility pouch sat on his left hip and a shuriken holder on his right. Kunai holsters filled to the brim was fastened on top of the medical tapes on his thighs. Finishing it off was a menacing blank white mask with darkened eye holes to disguise his eye color.

Naruto gave himself a once over in front of the only full body length mirror in the room. Satisfied with his look and with no single hair out of place, he proceeded to move towards the exit all the while zipping a hip length black hoodie to his torso. Flipping the hood to cover his bright blonde hair, he closed the door that led towards a barren room that was only decorated by a single bed, chair and table, and a single light bulb.

' _Let's get to work.'_

 **Part 2**

If one were to ask a Shinobi what is it that is the most important facet of their profession, what is it? Would they say their ninjutsu? Genjutsu? Taijutsu? Weapons? Or the more arcane form of techniques, fuinjutsu?

No, as one they would answer you: Deception.

Deception was the bread and butter of the Shinobi world. Shinobi lie to kill, lie to steal, lie to win, and lie to survive. A Shinobi's lifestyle revolved all around the whole concept of deception; keeping so many secrets filled with wonder and dread that the common man would either water at the mouth at the prospect of such secrets or wish for their death for the profanities and obscenities that they have found.

Uzumaki Kushina understood this concept well; seeing as her whole life was built upon this subject.

She was the last remaining descendant of the Uzumaki royal line. Her father had been the daimyo of Uzu no kuni and her mother was the uzukage of Uzushiogakure no sato. When she had been chosen as the second container for the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune, it had been at the middle of the second Shinobi world war. She had been on her way towards the famed Konohagakure no sato when news of her home's destruction reached her ears.

At first, she was devastated. Her home, the place she was born, where she spent her childhood, all those memories-gone. Anger for those that destroyed something so precious had reigned in her heart. It was with this anger that she had utterly destroyed the Shinobi from Iwa, Kumo and Kiri with impunity earning her the name of _'Konoha's Bloody Crimson Princess'_ in the Third Shinobi World War.

And though anger and hatred had nested itself in her heart, she did not act rashly. She questioned how it was possible. She had seen and had been taught by her father and mother the workings of the Uzumaki's Great Barrier Seal. It was the Uzumaki's greatest work of art, their masterpiece. The seal was impossible to bypass seeing as hundreds and thousands of Uzumaki seal masters worked and improved the barrier making it invincible. It was as she was thinking this that Kushina understood.

The Uzumaki were betrayed.

It was at that point that she started to deceive the whole of Konoha-the whole of the elemental nations. She played the loudmouthed, brash, kunoichi that dreamed to be the village's first female leader; their Hokage.

She befriended people in high places, those with the highest potential in her class, clan heirs, and people that worked for such people all the while investigating who betrayed her people; spreading her own spy network to hopefully find her scattered people.

Then she found him. The despicable betrayer: Shimura Danzo.

When she first found out, she wanted to storm into his ROOT hideout and gut him immediately, but she calmed down. Shimura Danzo was an important person for Konoha. He had a seat in the council as one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's advisors and his ROOT division was an important part of Konoha. Killing him would be too eye catching.

With that in mind, she instead began to sabotage all his operations. She exposed Orochimaru's illegal experimentation on his orders to the majority of the Shinobi population, she then exposed all his blacker than black missions and brainwashing and conditioning methods to Hiruzen, who at that time was Sandaime Hokage, and the clan heads forcing him to shut his advisor's division down.

She was undermining his powerbase in Konoha without him even knowing.

Then she gave birth to her children. It was merely a coincidence when an unknown masked man ripped the Kyuubi from her and taking her daughter hostage. When her husband had arrived and taken both her and her son after rescuing her daughter, he left them in an out of the way hideout on the outskirts of the village. He failed to take into account though that the masked man had subordinates to look after him if he failed.

Thirty men cloaked in black attacked her in her weakened form. She knew she couldn't fight back just right after she had a tailed beast ripped away from her. Knowing that she didn't show any fear merely pure will and determination. It was at this point that she looked at the child in her arms. Her son. Her Naruto.

She ignored her scared crying daughter as she continued to stare at her son's eyes even when she was surrounded. She looked at those glimmering jewels called eyes and ordered him:

"Kill them."

She knew that babies didn't understand words, that they didn't understand people. But she could see it in her son's eyes, he understood.

In a flash, the world was filled with golden flames. These flames did not burn nor emit heat, they strangled her enemies and crushed their bodies into non-existence. She knew that these flames were made of chakra, but it did not feel the same as her son's chakra in his unlocked coils.

Her eyes never left her child's just as his eyes never left hers. It was then she understood. She understood that her Naruto, her little Naruto, was born without humanity.

She was never happier than she had been at that moment. For the following years, she raised her son to be without humanity just like she who had discarded hers and he loved her for it. From the moment he could walk, she secretly trained him away from her husband and daughter disguising it as their mother and son bonding time.

By the time he turned three she had sent him on missions substituting him with a pre made blood clone. And he had never failed a single one. She had never been more proud of him since then.

Ever since, it had been a routine that Kushina would send her precious son on missions ranging from assassinations, espionage, search and destroy, and retrieval and rescue missions. The latter usually pertained to the scattered remains of the Uzumaki clan and bringing them back to Uzu no kuni.

Currently Kushina was all alone at home. Her husband, Minato, was at the Hokage tower, her daughter, Natsumi and her twin, Naruto's blood clone, was at the academy studying how to be Shinobi. Though for the latter seeing as he already knew all about the topics discussed in the academy, he was merely there to protect his precious twin.

It was once upon a time when Kushina despised her daughter. When she discovered that even though her son was born without humanity, he became somewhat human in her presence; and she loved him more for it. When he showed the same towards his precious twin, she was enraged and jealous that she almost killed her daughter. She did not understand why he cared for her when she was nowhere near as smart, strong, and powerful as he is.

It was merely the thought of upsetting her son that she did not act upon such desires.

Said desires were then banished when she saw what that semblance of humanity that her son displayed whenever his precious twin was around did to him.

" _Humanity looks so beautiful on him."_ she thought.

Just the sight of that beauty was enough to curb her jealousy and love her daughter. Just for that sight that she forgave Natsumi for the perceived travesty and cared for her just as a mother should.

Kushina was in her and her husband's shared room holding a rectangular contraption made by Yuki no kuni that utilized communication arrays to send and receive signals to contact others.

In Naruto's old world it would be called a phone.

She had just been on the phone with her son. He currently was in the capital of Kaminari no kuni for a search and destroy mission concerning one of the dummy companies used by her clan for the resurrection of their country. Local yakuzas were harassing their businesses so she sent him to destroy them utterly.

Usually it would take up to a week and a half to reach lightning country's capital and that was with Shinobi speed and yet it had taken her son merely an hour to reach its outskirts and enter it. Truly his abilities were nothing short of godlike.

"Naruto," she said in a breathy moan. "Hurry and come back to mommy."

Truly she loved her son. Maybe even more than what was healthy, but she did not care. Her eyes were clouded as she stared at the ceiling even as her right hand dipped into her skirt and under her panties.

" _Naruto…"_ his name came out of her lips in short breaths repeating over and over again as she continued to pleasure herself to the sinful thought of her son, of her wonderful, wonderful son. The thrusting of her fingers became faster and faster; more frantic upon the image of her and her son that her mind had came up. Quiet moans came out of her mouth as she can feel it - her release was near. And it was near indeed. In a strangled mix of a cry and a gasp did she came as she lifted a soiled wet hand to her mouth to lick off her juices.

" _Hurry back my son."_

Eyes then slowly closed to dream of days when she and her son were together surrounded by clansmen in a blooming, beautiful, and powerful country.

 **Part 3**

A tingle raced up and down his spine making him shiver. Naruto knew that he was not cold, his coat and shirt were making sure of that, so he knew that it might be because someone was talking about him. Though he wanted to know who was talking about him in such a time, right now was not the time for such frivolous thoughts.

Currently he was in an underground base of the aforementioned yakuza that he was sent to eliminate under an empty warehouse near the lakeside port. His victims were running away from him - even those hired missing nin.

He did not understand why they were running away. These vermin were only delaying the inevitable. The inevitable was called as such because it could not be avoided merely cheated and even then, the repercussions were unpleasant.

It was also because of this line of thought that Naruto believed that there is only one fate that all humans shared. That fate is death.

All humans die in the end and that there is no use for running for no one can avoid death. Death comes for all. And today, he was their death.

Naruto's right hand dipped into the side of his coat and touched upon a seal that was engraved there. In a small, discreet smokeless flash of light, his hand came out gripping and odd shaped object.

It was his CAD. In his old world, if he had remained dead there, his CAD would surely become his noble phantasm when he becomes a heroic spirit. His CAD was his instrument of death, his absolute weapon. In this world, it was still the same. His CAD was shaped into his favored steel-titanium-carbide cast, Silver horn long barrel custom model. Even though this world could not compare to his old world's technological marvels and advancement, he could still achieve the same level thanks to Fuinjutsu.

Fuinjutsu truly is a wonderful art. It was filled with so much potential that it can even amplify his inherent magic by nearly a staggering 120%.

Raising his arm, he aimed his CAD and pulled the trigger. Ten men fell to the ground dead, their heads missing from their bodies. If one were to look at the edges, one would find no marks upon that would identify that they were severed with a blade.

Such was the power of his magic **Decomposition**. With a single pull of the trigger he had set the targets to be the heads of his ten victims and activated his magic. With a single pull of the trigger, his prey's heads were destroyed to the atomic level erasing them from existence.

Golden flames sprung up around him and protected him from the salvo of jutsus that seek to harm him. As the attacks stopped, the golden flames sprung outwards covering anyone in a 15 meter diameter in it. The flames did not burn for they did not cast any heat.

The last any of the men saw was a golden flash, then, it was darkness.

Naruto ignored the sound of crushing bones as he continued to advance. It was at this point that his prey were too terrified to move as they finally saw that they were not dealing with any ordinary Shinobi.

They were dealing with a _Monster_.

Pointing his CAD up, he pulled the trigger and they were all suddenly pierced with light.

 **Distortion** was a spell that simultaneously utilized **Decomposition** and **Restoration**. By simultaneously decomposing and restoring photon pathways in certain patterns, he could make them into his own weapons.

With an apathetic and bored expression he then used **Elemental Sight** to check if there were still any alive. There were none.

Everything has form, and anything with form has information. Therefore everything has information and can in essence exist in the information dimension. Thus it is in theory that everything in creation can exist in the information dimension. Even the soul can, and it was this peculiar thing that he was searching for with his special sight.

It can even be said that his sight exceeds the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan in both range and quality; worthy to be called the **True All-Seeing Eyes**.

Without warning, golden flames erupted from behind him and protected him from what appeared to be a fireball. Correction, one was still alive.

Facing his foolish opponent, Naruto raised his hand in front of his masked face and made the universal sign of challenge as he resealed his CAD.

Kushina had taught him the ways and occasions of when to use his magic:

His most destructive magic to perform massacres.

His most versatile for duels.

And this was most definitely a duel. Without warning his opponent (obviously a Shinobi) began to do hand seals in quick succession then suddenly releasing a dozen smaller fireballs than the former as they flew in random directions. Naruto did not even bother to move from his position as his golden flames once again protected him.

Running towards him, his opponent put his hands together in a prayer like position as wind blades attacked his golden flames; negating them entirely even as they tore the concrete around him except for the ground he was standing on. Once more, the fool went through a sequence of hand seals and the ground rumbled as he hoped to destabilize Naruto.

But they couldn't even reach him. His golden flames negated them to an extent that they became harmless before they could even reach him.

Pressure then bore on his opponent making it that he couldn't even move. Unholy intent filled the room choking Naruto's only remaining prey with the bloodlust that it contained. Slowly, he approached the frozen man like a great cat stalking his meal of the day.

"Four times." he said. "You had four times to try and kill me. You failed. Now, its my turn."

Golden flames gathered into his hand as they solidified into a short sword. With a quick thrust to the heart, Naruto had reaped the man of his life.

Without a word, the golden short sword dissolved into little glimmering lights of gold and disappeared as its owner walked off and vanished into the darkness.

Naruto had then appeared on the roof of a building 20 meters away from his kill zone, once more he took his CAD and aimed it onto the abandoned and empty warehouse. A pull of the trigger and the warehouse together with its ten levels of basement disappeared in broad daylight with no one the wiser.

Once that was done he disappeared once again ignoring all the shocked exclamations of civilians as they saw that a building had disappeared when the bounded field hiding it from people was taken down. Now that it was time to go home, maybe he should buy a souvenir for his mother and his precious twin?

 **Part 4**

 **Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.**

The alarm clock rang noisily as it tried to wake its owner from slumber. Said owner on the other hand merely groaned as she transitioned from Morpheus's hands into the land of the living. Such process was unfortunately never an easy prospect for her and yet, she did so anyway.

Obsidian eyes opened itself to the world and smooth, silky midnight tresses flowed like a waterfall to her back as she sat up from bed. Reaching towards her side table, she grabbed her alarm clock and looked at the time:

4:30 am.

' _It is still too early!',_ she thought.

She had forgotten to reset her alarm clock last night. The academy opened at 8:00 am but classes do not start until 9:00 am. She usually woke up at this time to get some early morning training in but there had been no classes today so she had hoped to sleep a bit longer.

Usually she would decide to get an hour's worth of sleep in, but she feared that she would oversleep, so with great reluctance, she got out of bed and did some stretches to get the blood flowing.

She walked towards the window and threw open the curtains afterwards which, she would slide the window open to get some fresh air in her room. The air was cold but that was just how she liked it. For as far as she could remember, she had loved the cold. Even when it was freezing to the touch, she was never bothered by it. The cold, to her, was welcoming - just like home.

She leaned on the windowsill as she gazed to the skies above. It was still dark and the stars were uncountable. They shimmered brightly trying to drive off the suffocating darkness but it was just not so.

For one Uchiha Izumi, she was born aware of the darkness. She is the heiress to the Uchiha; a clan well known for their darkness and their Curse of Hatred that was as well known as their famed sharingan-the copy wheel eye. She was aware of their darkness and she embraced it and she accepted it so she was not all that bothered by it.

Izumi spent some few minutes just staring at the sky before she went to her closet and change her clothes. She had made sure to close the curtain to make sure that no one can peep on her. Though her room was positioned so that her window was towards the garden, she still did so. After all, she was a lady-in-training.

Usually, one would say lady in this case, but Izumi was not arrogant enough to call herself such when there was much she still had to learn. She did not want to get a big head.

Finished and dressed in her tracksuit, Izumi descended the stairs to see that her mother was already preparing breakfast with her father reading the paper with a coffee on hand.

"Ara, you're early Izumi-chan." Mikoto said in an interested tone as she took a small break in between washing the vegetables.

Uchiha Mikoto is a very beautiful woman in her late 20's with smooth, pale, snow white skin, and waist length hair of the darkest ebony. Though having given birth already, she still retained a seductive body that still made many men trip on their feet. It is said and proven that her beauty can match that of the Yondaime Hokage's wife Uzumaki Kushina, her best friend. Her beauty would only grown with every year that she has on her; like fine wine.

At most times Izumi would wonder if she could one day reach the beauty that her mother so openly displayed. She truly wished that she does - especially those large twin orbs hanging from her chest. She wished that she could someday match the size of her mother's bosom. Still, she was thankful that she at least inherited her mother's facial structure and skin tone which was evident even in her young age.

Putting all those frivolous thoughts aside, she answered:

"I forgot to reset my alarm clock last night. I'll be going out to get some early morning training though."

"Oh, I see." Mikoto answered. "Though do be careful when you go out dear, it is still quite dark out."

Having attained her mother's blessing did Izumi move towards the front door. Grabbing her shoes from the shoe rack, she began putting them on when she heard her father's voice from the hall.

"Izumi," Fugaku called.

"Yes, father?" Izumi replied curious as to what her father may have wanted from her.

Uchiha Fugaku was a man with a weathered face. Tear troughs can be found on each side of his nose which were developed from the stress as the Chief of Police of the Konoha Military Police Force. Once he could be called an effeminate man in his youth, now he had the looks of a rugged gentleman.

"Izumi, if you can, make sure you finish your training early. Together with your mother we will be going to Mizu no kuni's capital. We have been invited to the daimyo's party and we will be accompanied by the Hokage and his family together with other clans, so we don't want to be late. It would be a great dishonor to the clan if we do not attend an important event such as this.

"Finish early so that you can have time to prepare, is that understood?" he asked.

"Hai, father."

With that, she ran off into the darkness and pushed herself to finish all her sets in an earlier time to keep herself fit and strong. After all, she had to defend her position as top kunoichi of the year form her rival.

 **Part 5**

Izumi walked beside her parents to Konoha's west gate. There, she could see the different clan heads and their families who had decided to heed the water daimyo's invitation.

"Man, what a drag…" she heard.

Turning her head to the side, she could see a man wearing their Jonin ensemble slouching as he looked at everything and everyone with sharp but tired eyes. His hair had been styled into a spiky short ponytail making his head look as if it were a pineapple.

This was Shikaku Nara, head of the lazy but genius group of shadow users: the Nara clan. If what Izumi remembered was correct, he was also the leaf's jonin commander and their number one strategist. It was said that he was the leaf's smartest strategist since the time of the Nidaime Hokage, who was also renowned as a great tactician.

"I know, this is so troublesome." said a boy of around her age.

The lazy and sleepy tilt of the boy's voice only led more credence that this was her classmate, Shikamaru Nara.

Shikamaru was practically a carbon copy of his father; from his hairstyle, to his posture, right down to the expression of his eyes; the only difference was that he was wearing a grey short sleeved shirt worn over a mesh shirt with his clan's symbol embroidered on the chest and grey pants with Shinobi sandals. Truly, they were father and son.

The head and heir of the clan of deer herders were then beaten out of their lazy, listless expressions by the matriarch of the clan. Literally. A frying pan had practically come out of nowhere and smacked them both on their faces.

Yoshino Nara was a fierce woman who had a great dislike for laziness. Ironic since she was born in a clan of lazy deer herders and married the head of said clan. Though her looks were average, she had a certain charm to her that made her easy on the eyes. Her dark brown hair was slicked back and tied into a low ponytail which reached the back of her light pink wife beater worn with an earthy brown long skirt.

Izumi had turned her attention elsewhere seeing that it was quickly devolving into a comedy routine. With that in mind, she saw the different clans slowly arriving in the west gate.

The Hyuuga clan came first. Most of them wore stoic expressions on their faces as the clan famed for their **All-Seeing Eyes** was led by the formidable Hyuuga Hiashi. Accompanying him was his twin Hyuuga Hizashi together with their respective children, Hinata and Neji. Behind them were their wives Hikari and Hitomi, respectively. All of them were guarded by their clan's branch family members who bore the caged bird seal upon their foreheads.

To Izumi, all Hyuugas looked the same to her. They all looked too girly to her.

In a few minutes, the clan of mind walkers and the clan of growing giants came next. Inoichi Yamanaka led his family as he chatted with the head of the Akimichi clan, Akimichi Chouza. Their children, Ino and Choji merely walked quietly as their fathers talked.

"So, Inoichi, where is Miri-san?" she heard the head of the clan of giants ask.

"She's at home," Inoichi answered. "Someone has to manage the clan without me there. What about Chichi-san?"

"She went back when she heard that Miri-san wasn't going to come. She said that someone has to watch her so that she doesn't do anything too stupid and burn your clan down." answered the chubby man.

Izumi promptly ignored the following talks when it had become personal and not her business.

' _When are we going to leave?'_ , she thought.

She saw her mother head towards the wives of the clan heads to partake in some small talk and maybe some gossip. Her father on the other hand was talking with the clan heads concerning some business, maybe?

So lost was she in her thoughts that Izumi did not notice when the matriarch of the clan of fierce, loyal dogs, Inuzuka Tsume, and her son and daughter, the young Inuzuka Kiba and the blooming Inuzuka Hana, had arrived. She also did not notice when the Hokage and his family joined hers for some small talk.

"IIIIIIIIZZZZZZUUUUUUUMMMMMIIIIII~~~!" Izumi was snapped out of her trance when she heard that peculiar call.

Unfortunately, she only noticed that she was spacing out when she was sent to the ground by a tackle hug, courtesy of one Uzumaki-Namikaze Natsumi. Down to the ground she went as an additional weight made itself present on her back.

"Let go, of me. Natsumi!" Izumi said in short gasps as she tried to pry open the constricting arms around her neck.

Valiantly, she fought the striking arms of devious snakes that seek to curl themselves around her neck and waists. The owner of said arms, her best friend and rival, merely ignored the attempts to avoid her hugs as she continued to attempt to hug Izumi. It was in this frantic moment of movement-of grabs, deflections, dodges, and holds-did Izumi see a flash of gold and deep azure watching her from her peripherals.

By the time that Natsumi's playfulness had been fully sated, she turned to the direction where she that brief flash of color yet all she saw was an empty space and the deep brown of a tree trunk. There was only one person she knew that had those colors, turning to the main group she saw him beside his twin as if he had always been there.

Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, the undisputed genius and the strongest of all prospective genin in the academy with the highest grades in all of the village's history. There were rumors that he could have graduated after merely a short 6 months in the academy, yet he had chosen to stay. The reasons for such were varied and were a popular gossip topic by the housewives and Shinobi of her clan but the most probable was that he chose to stay for his twin.

As Izumi continued to stare at the back of Naruto, she saw him turn towards her and it was at that moment that the world ceased to exist. The ground she was walking on disappeared, the air she breathed stilled, her surroundings vanished and her parents by her side were non-existent. At that moment, there was only him and her. She stared into those sapphire jewels that were his eyes and he stared into her obsidian orbs.

They were the only two that existed in the world, no the universe and the moment that they spent seemed to stretch to infinity.

 ***Doki***

Her heart skipped a beat. She could feel heat spreading to her cheeks and an unfamiliar feeling bloomed into her chest. There was something within her that just seemed to reach out desperately towards the enigmatic boy as she continued to gaze into those eyes.

 ***Doki***

They said that if you were to stare into the abyss, the abyss would gaze back to you. Izumi felt that this was an apt description as she stared into Naruto's eyes. There she saw his cruelty, his ruthlessness, his bloodlust and most importantly the tightly restrained power that he held.

She understood just as many before her understood, he was not human. As she understood this, strangely enough she did not mind. She instead found that she liked, no loved, it that way. For she saw that even though there was no humanity in those cold, emotionless orbs, she saw that there was great affection and love for those he treasured and cared for. Like a dragon that guards its treasures and the damsel it kept within its tower.

Just as suddenly was their moment established, it was just as suddenly that it was broken. Naruto was the first to look away; and though impossible, she heard his cold, monotone whisper:

"You saw too much." he said.

A shiver that she could only call pleasured wracked her body when she heard that cold voice. The world returned to normal-no, it was she who returned to normal as she once again perceived her parents, the ground, the skies, the winds and the air, and all of her surroundings. She ignored her parents who had looked at her with some worry when she became strangely quiet and merely contemplated what she had seen at that moment.

She asked herself: _"Who_ _ **IS**_ _Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto?"_

 **Part 6**

" _Thus here I stand, I face my greatest foe._

 _Upon this field of blades, this hill of infinite swords_

 _I glare at the hero; the one true king_

 _Infinite treasures ready to taste my blood; I stand firm._

 _Benevolent and great he once was,_

 _Corrupted, darkened, and twisted he became._

 _And thus here I stand,_

 _Steel in my bones and fire in my veins._

 _I stand,_

 _With a body made of swords."_

 **Body of Swords** , a compelling read Naruto had picked up upon his many travels. It was the story of a boy who wished to be a hero who was then thrust into a war of epic heroes and death. It was in this war where he was questioned of the worth of his ideals and the willingness to go as far as needed for such ideals. It was also here where he was questioned as to what was a true hero for one man's hero is another's villain.

Truly, this was a beautiful story filled with love, action, philosophical debates, drama and tragedy. It was because of this that this book became his favorite read. The coincidences of magical theory and elements that were comparable to his own world's not withstanding.

Beautiful and enchanting melodies flew seamlessly from numerous instruments and people danced to their tunes. He saw people, nobles, merchants, and royalty mingling with each other; laughing from jokes and merrymaking. Foods and drinks were eaten and drunk aplenty.

He saw his parents, his father and mother, talking with their country's daimyo sharing a few laughs as they joined the festivities. He saw his precious twin running around the venue together with the much talked about Uchiha Izumi and the children of the clan heads; enjoying the party in their own way. The clan heads themselves discussing a variety of topics ranging from business to pleasure.

While they were enjoying themselves in their own ways, he too was entertaining himself. Naruto was not much of a social or party type of person. Even in the old world where he was forced to attend social gatherings by his beloved Miyuki, he mainly stuck to her side and let her do all the talking merely giving his opinion on topics here and there.

As such, he merely stuck to the walls and continued to read his book. Even when an unexpected presence entered his sensory field, he did not bother to look up from his book and let him/her do whatever it is that they are doing as long as they do not disturb him and his reading time.

"Do you mind if I stay here for a while?" they asked.

From the pitch of the voice and its sensual quality, he could tell that whoever was talking to him was female.

Without even lifting his head Naruto answered her: "No, not really."

As long as she did not disturb him of course, he would not mind. Of course, this went without saying. After all, it would be such a shame to stop here now that he was at climax of the story. Even though he had already reread this book for so many times, he still could not stop perusing it over and over again.

" **Body of Swords**?" the female beside him said. "Even though it is such a wonderful story, isn't it such a waste to keep reading it in a party like this? Also, isn't that quite a difficult book to read for someone of your age?"

" _And I was hoping to finish the fight between Hiro and Bowman. Such misfortune."_ he thought.

With a sigh, he snapped his book shut and looked up towards the woman who had been patiently waiting for his reply. Why would a fully grown woman choose to talk to him anyway?

Looking up, he was suddenly assaulted with a compulsion to seduce her. Even with such a sudden urge, it was ineffective due to his tight hold on his emotions and urges. It merely took a second to scan the woman for any intent to harm him and any hidden weapons. He had found some hidden knives stored in seals discreetly sown and painted into her elaborate kimono which was made to look good and to allow full range of movement if a fight were to ever break out. Though he did have to admit, that even though he was blasted with the equivalent of this world's to his' compulsion spell, the woman was very beautiful.

Luscious red hair-that even though was nowhere near comparable to his mother's, was still quite pretty-was done in an elegant bun and pinned with an excellent jade dragon pin with stylized gold and platinum. Her light blue kimono designed with flowing waves hugged her shapely body giving her an arousing allure even without showing much skin. An exquisite purple Hagoromo made of unidentified threads wrapped around her shoulders as their tips nearly brushed the polished tile floor.

Truly, Naruto could say she was a one of kind beauty.

Straightening his posture, he faced the woman who had disturbed his precious reading time.

If one were to look carefully at the aforementioned woman's one could see some barely disguised awe; one that was reciprocated by those who had been looking upon them since the first time.

Naruto's silver 3-piece tuxedo was all without a crease as he full faced her with a straight yet relaxed posture. His gold, silken hair that was neatly kept into a thin ponytail was swept to hang on his left shoulder. In the right lighting, they had shined luxuriously like the highest quality of gold as his eyes brightly shone like the most exquisite of sapphires. His face like the most handsome of men was stoic. Unknowingly, Naruto had projected an aura that only those of the highest pedigree had managed to project after years of training.

To see one so young do so, it was nothing short of amazing.

"Yes, the book is quite difficult to read for an ordinary eight year old, but you'll quite see that I am not your ordinary eight year old." Naruto drawled. "As for the party, I am not much of a party person nor am I that social either so I enjoy being alone with only a few acquaintances to speak to if needed."

His tone and cadence struck the point home that he was quite annoyed that he was not allowed to finish his book. Hearing such a tone from one so young gave rise a small sense of embarrassment wash over her.

"Now, as much as I like being blasted with a charming compulsion of a Genjutsu," he said much to her shock. "May I know the name of the lady who had decided to grace me with her presence?"

The woman merely smiled at his gentlemanly tone, amusement and fondness evident in her cerulean eyes. Grabbing the sides of her kimono, she did a small curtsy as she introduced herself.

"A good evening to you," she greeted. "My name Mei Terumi, Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure no Sato of the wealthy land of Mizu no kuni."

Her eyes narrowed and her charming smile widened as Mei asked:

"How do you do, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto-san?"

 **A/N: it is DONE! Chapter 2 of Requiem of Phantoms is done! As you can see, we display a sliver of the power that Naruto possesses in this story. The inspiration for his abilities came from the stories of Fujin of Shadows' and Dreaming of the Moon's The Prince of Yotsuba and Hero or Monster, respectively. Also, this is an AU so I DELETED SASUKE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have always hated that prick ever since the start of the series! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I then gender bent Itachi, one of the most badass anime characters of all time, into female and made him Naruto and his generation's age!**

 **ANYWAY, read, follow, review! This is Cielblackblood, signing out!**


	4. Party pt2

**Chapter 3**

For one Terumi Mei, attending this party had been her way of escaping her responsibilities as the leader of her nation's hidden village. In other words, this had been her chance to take a break after days of signing, denying or approving the paperwork presented to her by her trusted (and all-around annoying) lieutenant: Ao.

She had expected to enjoy herself; to let loose and relax. Taste the delicacies that were prepared, sip some wine, and maybe find some decent man to take her to the dance floor.

Dancing. Oh, how she loved this activity. Back in her childhood years, even before the bloodline purges and the rebellion she led, it was her favorite past time. She remembered walking up to her father and pester him for a dance.

Terumi Ichigo had taught her all there was about dancing. He was her father, her best friend, her dance partner, and her all-around idol.

Such was her hectic lifestyle that she found no time to appreciate dancing once more. Now that she was invited to her country's daimyo's party, she was expecting to revisit her favorite forgotten past time.

It was safe to say that Mei was expecting to do a lot in this party.

She was disappointed, though. True, she had enjoyed the food and drink, she had enjoyed the festive atmosphere, but she just couldn't find one decent man here, damnnit!

She knew she was beautiful-incredibly so. She knew she was desirable seeing that she used her appeal in a few missions to get the job done back when she was a jonin. She was blessed with good looks, an awesome figure, and a sexy butt (she was exceptionally proud of her buttocks)! She even enjoyed it when people looked at her and admired her beauty and complimented her.

But that didn't mean that she liked being leered and drooled at like a piece of meat!

And so, she wasted no time to ignore their existences like they were no more than pebbles on her path. She couldn't stand the pretentious, licentious and all-around pathetic men who called themselves nobles propositioning her.

Why, there was even one who had the gall to order her to be his mistress. The nerve! Ask her, she who was leading one of the most well-known and powerful hidden villages in this age? She who was ranked among the most powerful women in the world? She whose beauty, power and grace had been compared to the Senju slug princess? One could say that those who had seen her reaction had paid no mind to her at all lest they be the next to lose the ability to reproduce.

Safe to say that she had lost all her interest in the party after that commotion. Mei had leaned on the walls to the side of the dancing party-goers eyeing them with some envy whilst sipping a drink imported from the west. What did they call it-Champagne, was it?

It was when she was uninterestedly looking at the enjoying people, that she caught him in her eye.

There. On the wall opposite hers near the entrance towards the open-air balcony, he leaned as he continued to read a small pocket book. Mei did not know what had drawn her to him, but by the time she had noticed that something was off, she was already next to the young man.

She had not even notice herself move; too entranced by him as she was.

For the second time that night she cast her gaze upon him and studied him more intensely now that she was closer. He was young; 9-10 years old in her opinion. He had the appearance of a high-born aristocrat-a land's prince, maybe?-and yet he did not give off the feeling of lies and deceit like other nobles. Even those of his age. He was dressed in fine clothes that hinted in deep pockets yet its simplistic and elegant design spoke of practicality and true grace.

…And he was still reading his book. If there was one thing that Mei would freely admit about herself other than her beauty, power, and competence, it was that she hated being ignored. It was because of this tick that she applied a slight Genjutsu over her countenance.

She then called out to him and yet he still did not deign her worthy of his attention. Of course, being the person that she was she completely ignored this opting instead to continue talking to him.

Finally after being bothered by her presence too much, the young man had looked up. Mei had to admit that she had held her breath for a split second. As soon as he looked up, the young man's eyes were the first to register in her mind.

 _Sapphires. They glow like sapphires,_ she thought. It had merely taken her the same amount of time for her to recover her lost composure. There was only one person with eyes comparable enough to his- one that she was quite familiar with seeing that she did have to meet him in a meeting last month. There was no doubt that this was Konoha's vaunted prince.

And though the young man spoke with muted annoyance, there was only one thing that dominated Mei's mind: Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto will be quite the pleasurable company.

 **Part 2**

Izumi was bored. Of this, there was no doubt. At first she had followed her friend/rival Natsumi around as she spoke to the other clan heirs from Konoha then she followed her once more when she began to play some games with them but she had quickly gotten tired of it.

So here she was wandering around the ballroom with nothing to do. Looking around with an indifferent expression she saw various adults talking, drinking, flirting(not that she knew what this was), and eating.

Truly there was nothing interesting here for her in this party.

With that thought, Izumi proceeded to approach the buffet table. A raise of her hand, and a waiter quickly approached her; handing her a glass of fizzy apple juice.

 _The people here are so plain_ , she thought. Raising the glass to her lips, onyx eyes scanned the various nobles and court ladies attending the ball. Even though she hadn't activated her clan's vaunted **Sharingan** (she was the youngest of her clan to activate her Kekkei Genkai at the young age of seven), Izumi could confidently say that they were all too transparent.

Their motives, greed, ill-will, and hidden opportunistic gleams all too clear to her eyes. Once more bringing the glass to her lips, she continued this activity for a few more minutes. A few of the younger men in her age range approached her asking for a dance though she had rejected them all, and even though she continued her streak of rejections it seemed as if there was an endless line of boys who wanted to ask her for a chance at the dance floor.

It was understandable seeing that she was quite pretty herself. Though Izumi was taught to act with humility and modesty, she was also taught to have pride. And she was quite proud of herself. Raven tresses hung freely on her back gently curling themselves, pale alabaster skin subtly reflected the ballroom lights. Her slender body clad in a red dress imported from the west that reached her ankles with an abundant amount of black ribbons that were strategically placed to emphasize her immature beauty.

It was needless to say that she was quite eye-catching.

As she delivered her 21st rejection, the nobles surrounding her seemed to quiet. Curious, she turned to them and saw that they were all looking towards one direction: the ballroom floor center.

Her attention now elsewhere, she looked for the cause of the sudden quiet. She caught the figure quickly and when she did, her breath caught in her throat. Izumi's widened eyes traced the familiar figure's form as her cheeks darkened slightly. Ever since that little moment from the start of their journey she had rarely seen the ever illusive brother of her best friend. That is why when she saw him walking towards the dance floor with a beautiful woman on his arm, she could be excused when she didn't even notice the woman; eyes transfixed to the princely figure of one Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto.

Naruto had always been the tallest in their class. He stood at an imposing solid 5 feet. He and his sister-who stood at 4 feet 8 inches-seemed to have inherited the Fourth's tall height. He was dressed in an immaculate three piece silver suit with gold and diamond cufflinks and polished-to-shine white dress shoes. His pony tailed golden locks swung left and right freely with every step that he took.

Izumi could admit to herself that Naruto looked heavenly.

She watched as Naruto and his partner stopped at the very center of the space provided for the dance floor; the other dancers having left as they too wished to see the spectacle that he and his chosen partner would provide.

Naruto turned and gave a glance towards the playing orchestra's maestro to which he returned with a nod. Raising his baton, the maestro conducted the orchestra and a beautiful, nostalgic, fast-paced melody flew out of their instruments.

Izumi saw the Water Daimyo instruct a member of the staff and then the lights dimmed. A spotlight shining down on the readied main performers.

A sharp rise in the music's intro signaled the start and suddenly…

They Danced.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

 **(Play Cantarella by Vocaloid)**

A single step.

That was the start. A single step was the start as suddenly it went on to a series of graceful steps and twirls with a rhythm that was as fast-paced as their accompanying music, their eyes never having left each other's. Highest quality sapphire were stoic as it never left the taller woman's eyes. In the same sense, amused and delighted jade trained on the shorter boy's orbs.

Natsumi emotionlessly watched as her brother twirled and dipped the auburn haired woman with a hand on her lower back and another grabbing her bare leg as it peeked out of her kimono-like dress's slit before resuming their fast number that was a combination of a tango and waltz.

Natsumi watched her brother dance with an unfamiliar woman with a carefully crafted blank mask to hide her growing darker emotions. Ever since they were children, Natsumi knew that her attraction towards her brother was not healthy. As they grew up, she would glare at every girl, woman, and child that would show even the slightest hint of attraction towards her brother and the will to act on it. More than once she had to intervene or she would have lost her brother to another woman.

And she would never stand for that.

NeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNever _NeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNever_ _ **NeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNever**_ _ **NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER!**_

She loved her brother too much to even entertain the idea of losing him to some… _HUSSY_!

And right now, here she was, watching her brother dance with some, some… _old_ _ **HAG**_ _._ That's why, she was keeping a tight reign on her emotions so she did not lash out and murder someone; specifically someone who was holding her brother too tight to her chest.

If she does that, she would no doubt enjoy it with regret being so far from her mind, after all…

This would not be the first time she does it for her brother.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

She couldn't stop smiling. Her eyes glowed with joy, her face lighting up like the sun as her dance partner lifted her up the ground. Her left leg wrapped around her partner's right thigh; sensually sliding down his lithe muscular body.

His eyes never left hers ever since the start of their dance just as hers never left his. Mei blushed slightly as she realized this fact.

 _You really can't blame me though_ , she thought as they continued to dance on the floor. His eyes though stoic just seemed to draw her in. every move they made, every step he took, every breath he takes, there was just a hint of an underlying seducing quality in them.

It was hard to believe that he was just eight years old! For one, he was tall for his age(his head reaching just about her shoulders), he was mature, he was divinely handsome, he was gentlemanly-why, if he were older she would have already made a move on him.

With great timing, the music went into a resounding halt just as they finished their last twirl and dip. There was silence in the hall for no more than a second as thunderous applause echoed around them.

Even as the applause grew louder with cheers intermixed in between, Mei's eyes never left his.

"That was a great dance," Naruto said. "You were wonderful."

Blood rushed towards Mei's cheeks at the sincere compliment as she replied breathlessly, "Thank you."

Fixing their positions, Naruto held her hand gently yet firmly as he led her towards her speechless bodyguards.

 _Ever a gentleman even until the end_ , she thought as a feeling of embarrassment and slight happiness all the while continuously glancing at their intertwined hands and stoic face. How could a child make me act like this, her mind raged but it never showed on her face to keep a professional image towards her subordinates, but it was a struggle.

As soon as they reached her subordinates, Kirigakure no Sato's Mizukage turned towards her young partner.

"That was the greatest dance of my life." Mei commented with much honesty. It was true after all. She couldn't remember how long it was since she had such an enjoyable time dancing with someone other than that of her father.

"You're welcome." Naruto bowed slightly; his right hand over his heart while his left settled comfortably on the base of his spine.

"It was my pleasure that I could somehow make this night memorable for you."

"Oh, stop it," Mei replied with a slight blush. "You are being too precocious now, Naruto-san."

Though his eyes were cold, the slight grin that appeared on his face made her heart skip a beat and for heat to rush to her face.

She was right, though. Konoha's prince, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto had been a delightful company. She may have pestered him until they could speak in conversation, it was him who had invited her to dance. Oh, she may have challenged him, not really believing that a boy his age could dance well, Naruto took that challenge in stride and resolutely led her towards their battlefield(dance floor).

And she was quite delighted when he had proven her wrong. He had danced like a true master of the art. He had quite single-handedly salvaged this disappointment of a night to her.

In light of this fact, she was about to invite him to join her at the buffet table to get something to nibble on. Mei was not about to leave this delightful young man and spend the rest of this night alone. She opened her mouth but someone had beaten her to it.

"And here they are: the stars of the night." Mei turned around and was greeted by the sight of her country's Daimyo accompanied by Hi no kuni's Daimyo and Konoha's Hokage, Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.

"Kudou-sama." Mei bowed respectfully at her country's leader before she did the same towards the others.

Kudou Shinichi was a tall scholarly man with a gentle face, messy black hair and brown eyes. He was garbed in official clothing as proof of his stature as Mizu no Kuni's Daimyo. Though his reign as Daimyo had just started-seeing as he had ascended the throne at the end of their civil war, he was quite the beloved figure in their country.

"That was quite the performance, Mizukage-sama," he said. "I didn't know that you danced."

"Dancing had been a hobby and favorite past time of mine, Daimyo-sama."

A grin stretched on the Daimyo's lips as he gazed at one of his country's most loyal defenders.

"Please," he intoned with a slight laugh. "Call me by my name, it would not do for my hidden village's leader to be so submissive. It would surely send the wrong sort of message towards this gathering of vultures."

A peek at her peripherals and Mei then knew that it was true. They were being watched by quite the number of people. There were a lot of people here from opposing villages and countries so the slightest hint of weakness would surely send them rush in for blood.

"Then please address me by my name then, Shinichi-dono."

An accepting nod answered for her before her beloved country's leader took a look at her silent companion. A searching look in his eyes as he looked Naruto in the eye; neither flinching away from the other. After a short while of searching Kudou Shinichi must have found what he was looking for as he suddenly gained an approving look on his face.

"Hokage-sama, I take it that this is your son?" Shinichi asked as he looked at a curious Minato.

"Yes, he is Daimyo-sama." Minato answered with not quite a small amount of pride.

Mei remained silent as her lord nonchalantly hum in response.

"You and your village are quite lucky you know, Hokage-sama." he said as he glanced towards Naruto who had a small bit of annoyance show on his face, so small in fact that one might call it non-existent. But to those who knew him, even showing that much emotion must mean that he was truly greatly annoyed at something as he grumbled underneath his breath.

"Anyway, come, Mei-kun. Please accompany me as I make some rounds." Although it had been voiced as a request, it was undoubtedly and order from the Daimyo.

With one last look, Mei waved at her temporary dance partner goodbye before sedately following her daimyo. This would not be the last time they would see each other, she resolved to herself. The next time they would meet she would once again ask him for a dance and if he were a bit older then, maybe she would ask him for a date?

Who knows, the future isn't set in stone after all.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Naruto calmly looked at his dance partner's retreating back. It had been a surprise, but he had definitely enjoyed the round of dancing they had shared. Her playful seductive act just added to the enjoyment that he had derived from the activity.

Naruto could not understand why humans would make such an activity, it was not like martial arts as he could understand that its purpose was for battle. Humans were such destructive creatures after all, but dancing was useless in that regard. Even with that notion in mind, it did not stop him from learning the art and deriving enjoyment from it.

A pair of familiar arms wrapped around his chest as he was then tightly squeezed.

"You were wonderful darling." His mother Kushina spoke as she buried her nose in his hair.

Kushina had been watching her beloved son's dance since the beginning, her eyes never straying from his graceful form. Pride and jealousy waged a war inside her as she watched him: pride in the fact that it was her who had taught him such a wonderful art - one that she had learned and perfected in her childhood - and jealousy over the fact that her precious son had taken another woman to the dance floor.

"Thank you for the compliment, mother." Naruto replied, his hand reaching for the pair that were entwined on his waist and held it gently yet firmly. He had sensed his mother's underlying jealousy and sought to reassure her.

His mother had always been a bit too possessive of him so he was not surprised to see her hackles raised after seeing him with another woman. Just recently, she did not even tolerate his own sister being near him.

To the side watching this mother-son pair, Minato could not help but feel as if he had missed something important between the interaction of his wife and son. All he could see right now were a pair of a particularly close proud mother and happy yet stoic child. Seeing that the conversation had died a while back, the Lord Fourth of Konohagakure coughed slightly in his fisted hand and said:

"Well now, the night is still young and there are still quite a lot of people that we have to meet and talk with, so why don't you accompany your mother and I together with Daimyo-sama for awhile, Naruto."

"That is a wonderful idea!" the then-silent aging Daimyo of Hi no Kuni exclaimed with a clap of his hands.

"I'm sure after the spectacle that your son has provided for us many people would want to meet him now, Hokage-sama."

And it was true. Many people were truly curious about the young man who had provided such a wonderful showing on the dance floor. Curious eyes, questioning eyes, passed over his form more than once; Naruto knew this.

Bowing his waste to a slight angle, Naruto intoned:

"If Daimyo-sama and father would allow it, then I would gladly accompany you to your talks and greetings."

"Nonsense. We would be delighted to have your presence with us, Naruto-sama." they replied.

Though it should be noted that this voice that replied was not the voice of and old and aging man well in his years, nor was it particularly male. It was young-probably at the same age as he was if not just a slight bit younger- and it was noticeably more feminine.

Naruto's eyes immediately turned to the side as soon as he heard this voice. It was one that was familiar to him, one that-dare he say it?-was precious to him. To his right, people cleared the way to one of the most beautiful women that he had seen.

 **Doki Doki**

His heart beat audibly in his ears as the familiar purple hair came into his sight.

"Ah, so you're finally here, my precious granddaughter."

The aging Daimyo of his country stated yet Naruto heard none of this as his attention solely remained at her. From his peripherals, he saw his father and mother both bow in respect yet still, Naruto paid this no heed his eyes remaining on her form as a nostalgic yet sorrowful presence embraced him.

Purple hair the color of orchids were styled into an elegant bun with her forehead bangs together with a longer one with a curl on the end remaining free to frame her pale, pinkish white face. Cherry lips were curved into a graceful smile while slanted, phoenix like eyes the color of rubies shone with adoration, respect and love.

She stopped when she was merely 3 feet away from him, her expression never changing. She raised a dainty, delicate arm uncovered due to the style of the red, strapless and backless western dress that she wore; one that Naruto swiftly yet unhurriedly took in his own.

Naruto could hear the World's voice rising in anger so he could definitely be sure that this was who she was. Slowly, he dipped his head eyes never leaving hers as his lips pressed itself on her knuckles.

"It is nice to see you once again, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto-sama." she said.

"And to you as well, Tenryo Fuyuki-sama." he replied.

This was Tenryo Fuyuki, granddaughter to Tenryo Yamamoto Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, First Princess, First in line to the Throne, Her Imperial Majesty and whether she knew it or not, the third person to hold the Dragon's leash and control his horns.

This was Tenryo Fuyuki, reincarnation and transmigrant of one Yotsuba-formerly Shiba-Miyuki, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto's(Yotsuba Tatsuya's) precious little sister.

 **Part 3**

 **(Play "Sorrow" Realta Nua BGM)**

Fingers flew between keys as she continued to play wonderful, wonderful music. It was one whose tune seemed to pluck and echo inside her chest. Truly, this was a masterpiece of a musical composition; as expected of her precious person. He was a man of multiple talents.

1,2,3,4.

1,2,3,4.

The metronome beside her rhythmically beat in time with her play, offering a sense of serenity in the midst of such an emotional piece. It was this serenity that allowed this Tenryo Fuyuki to let her mind wander and get lost in the memories that her precious person left her: such as the first time that they had met.

A bright, beautiful smile appeared on her lips. Fuyuki could still remember the first words that he said to her:

 _I ask of you… are you my Primary?_

 **Flashback**

 _She was running. Her breath came in short and erratic bursts as she single-mindedly continued to run._

" _Ah!" she exclaimed._

 _Four year old Fuyuki put her arms in front of her to break her fall as she tripped on a stray root on the forest floor._

" _U-Uhh~" shakily she tried to get up. Hands and knees shaking as she stood up._

" _There she is!"_

" _Get her!"_

 _Numerous footsteps echoed on this quiet night shocking her out of her painful stupor. Quickly, she ran once more but eventually, she couldn't run anymore and they caught her-cornered her in front of a cliff face._

 _Her pretty kimono had long been torn and dirtied as she stared at her pursuers. They were dressed in colors of brown and red. A protective flak jacket covered their torso and a protective plate sewn on cloth was on their forehead. A symbol of towering rocks etched on its metal face._

 _Fuyuki knew who these were. She had learned about them from the lessons she had in the palace._

 _These were Iwa Shinobi. Her bodyguards of Samurai were killed by these Shinobi as did the caravan that had accompanied her from her trip to the Crescent Moon Kingdom and back._

 _Fuyuki was a smart girl, she had heard about the ongoing tension between the nations of Hi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni that came about after the end of the Third Shinobi World War from her grandfather._

So this is how tensions between our countries snap?, _Fuyuki thought to herself as she stared her end to its face._

" _For a princess, you sure are quick on your feet." one of the Iwa Shinobi said as he slowly stepped towards her, a kunai on hand._

 _And for that, she could only thank the heavens that she got the idea to ask Asuma-san to unlock her Chakra and train her in the basic uses of the energy._

" _But even that will not help you now," the aforementioned Shinobi continued._

" _End of the line, Princess."_

Help _. Everything became slow to her vision as she watched the kunai fly to her._

Help. _The all-purpose knife was aimed towards her neck-to the spot where she knew her jugular resided._

 _It was so ridiculous. Everything was just fine a second ago then everything went wrong as soon as these Shinobi showed up. Fuyuki could not help but resent them. She was just starting her life then it was just going to end so suddenly just like this?!_

" _Don't mess with me, I-…" she whispered too lowly for anyone to hear._

Won't die just as easily like this-! _The kunai was getting closer and closer, and soon, she could not keep it in._

" _HEEEELLLLPPP!"_

 _Truly…_

" _Huh, w-what?!"_

… _It appeared like magic. The moonlight shines brightly and almost blinded her but the figure in front of Fuyuki, all she knew was that it was a boy._

 _In a golden flash, something in his hand repelled the Iwa Shinobi's kunai aimed at her throat and steps up to the enemy without hesitation._

" _Guh…! Could it be, an enemy!?" the Iwa Shinobi readies his deflected knife and pairs it with a then sheathed tanto in the other hand._

 _Sparks fly twice as the boy and the enemy Shinobi clash. Such a clash resulted in the enemy's kunai and tanto rendered useless as it was cut cleanly through._

 _Comrades help, but were near instantly made a non-factor with some strong blows._

 _The man hesitates and in return, receiving a heavy blow from the boy._

" _Guhah!" a kick to the sternum made him breathless and blood rose up from his throat._

 _He must have realized that he was at a disadvantage as soon as he recovered as he immediately jumped back and put some distance between them with bestial speed._

 _Fuyuki saw as the boy kept his guard up around the enemy while he quietly turned to her. The wind was strong tonight as it blew her hair and the tattered remains of her clothes this way and that. The clouds drift and the moon appears for a moment._

 _The silver light that illuminated the clearing in front of the cliff face shed light on the boy's dark dressed form._

"…" _She was speechless._

 _It was not because she was confused at the turn of events; she had perfectly kept track of the events. It was because of this boy's overwhelming beauty. The golden hair lit by the moonlight is finely textured, as if sprinkled with gold dust. The face, with some sign of naiveté, has elegance, and his white skin looked so soft._

" _-" the young boy stared at her emotionlessly with his jewel-like eyes._

" _-I ask of you, are you my primary." he says in a valiant voice. It was polite as it was gentle. She couldn't help but be mesmerized by it._

" _Eh… Pri… Primary?"_

 _Fuyuki could only repeat his words. She doesn't know who he is or what he was talking about. All she knows was that, somehow, this small boy was a greater being than the man who was currently watching them with fear and caution on the sidelines._

"…"

 _The boy says nothing and stares at her silently._

 _-How should she put this?_

 _The boy in front of her is so special that she could forget the situation, that the man on the sidelines is an enemy and could come split her throat open in an instant. It felt like time had stopped around her as she continued to stare upon this boy blessed by the moonlight. The fear disappears and only this boy fills her vision._

" _I, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, have come forth in response to the contract."_

" _!?"_

 _At the mention of his name, the enemy Shinobi jolts up with a start as sweat runs aplenty on his brow, yet, she does not notice this her attention remaining on the person who had saved her._

" _Please, give me your orders, my Primary."_

 _He speaks again. The second she hears the word Contract and Primary…_

"… _!" a pain shoots through her left hand as symbols of fuinjutsu spread at the back of her hand._

 _It was like hot iron was branded on her hand and fire was flowing in her veins but Fuyuki was a strong girl and kept her voice in and endured. She must have impressed the boy somewhat as a glimmer of respect shone in his emotionless eyes._

 _The pain soon stopped and she saw that the fuinjutsu had converged and formed into a dragon eating its own tail separated in three. Instinctively, she grabbed her left hand._

 _That must have been the signal as the boy quietly nods his handsome face._

" _From this time forth my sword shall be with you and your fate shall be with me." he said._

" _-Now, our contract is complete."_

" _Contract…? W-what are you talking about?!"_

 _Finally she had found her voice as she immediately asked to find answers to her confused mind. She only had a passing knowledge of fuinjutsu, ninjutsu or chakra but she did understand what the word Contract means._

 _But the boy does not answer as he walked away with the same grace he had as he nodded._

 _-He looks away, and there, he sees the man from earlier tensing as he readied another pair of blades._

 _A deadly look entered his eyes._

 _Golden fire that did not burn spreads around him and on his skin._

 _He advanced and so did the enemy._

 _It was on this moonlit night, on the day she had almost lost her life, that Tenryo Fuyuki first met Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto: her Bodyguard, her confidante, her most precious person._

 **Flashback End**

Music continued to echo in her room. Fuyuki closed her eyes as she tried to savor the rich melodies that were being produced by the instrument in front of her. It was due to this that she did not notice a person stand behind her.

Slowly, hands reached over and accompanied her in playing the instrument. Though surprised at first, she knowingly smiled as there would be only one person who could play and accompany her on this piece. Fuyuki kept quiet and continued to play.

Fingers slowly stopped on the last note as the song ended and closed eyes opened to look at the person playing behind her. Ever since she had first met him, Fuyuki felt as if his features haven't changed save for the touch of maturity that began to appear over the years. Golden hair appeared first as it sparkled with the moonlight shining through her opened balcony door. Skin as ethereal as the white moon still looked so soft and eyes of the highest quality sapphires shined.

It had only been a week since she saw him see her off after the party at the Mizu Daimyo's palace but to her, it had felt as if it was a lifetime ago. Fuyuki would be the first to admit that after they first met, she had been unable to let go of him-to stay away from him. How she survived 4 years of not being in constant contact with him, she would never know.

She lived for this moment; for this moment when his gentle fingertips would run themselves through her hair, when his sensitive nose would take in the smell of her shampoo, of her scent, of when strong arms that could kill men ten times that of his size would gently embrace her in such warmth. Tenryo Fuyuki lived for this, for when she should have been dead, he had come and saved her.

That day, when she made that realization, something clicked in what she could only describe as her soul and she thought: _Ah, so that is how it is. I live for him. For that one person who would always come to my side no matter the circumstances. I live for the man I love._

Feminine hands reached up and cupped the stoic face above her. Thin pink lips-so much like her own, she thought-twitched into a smile as soft tips ghosted upon his cheeks.

Naruto smiled upon her touch, upon his beloved sister's touch. Yes, she may not know it-and he will never let this secret come to light-but she was still his most precious sibling. Her birth was the result of a one-night affair between his own father and the eldest Imperial Princess, Tenryo Inori. His father did not know of the existence of Fuyuki but it still did not change that he had not been there for her during her childhood.

It was why he began to drift apart from his father Minato. Family was the most important thing to Naruto after all and to abandon family to another was a crime worthy of death in his own humble opinion. Kushina had certainly not minded a development such as this. To her, if he became hers even more then all was good in the world, or maybe even better.

While he may say it like this, it was not Minato's fault alone. Inori-hime had hidden the fact that she had an affair and its subsequent result. She had written off the Fuyuki's birth as her husband's daughter which the Imperial Fire Court had believed even when presented with the facts that her husband had been sterile before this.

Fuyuki's arms wrapped around his neck just as his wrapped around her waists. She pulled him down as she nestled her head on the crook of his neck.

"I have missed you much, Naruto-sama." she said.

"It has been only a week, Fuyuki-hime. Truly, you must be exaggerating?"

Naruto replied with a smile. He enjoyed this play and barter of words that he occasionally had with her.

"No, to you my most precious person, it may have only been a week," Fuyuki said with a slight pout. "To your princess, surely it has already been an entire lifetime?"

"No. I'm definitely sure it has only been a week, my princess."

There was a noticeable laugh in his words that only made Fuyuki's pout worsen. He laughed out loud when he felt his sister nuzzle his neck and blew a raspberry at it. Swiftly, he picked her up eliciting a short squeal from her as they moved towards her bed and gently set her upon the foot of her bed.

Immediately, he went towards his sister's wardrobe closet-or room, which is more accurate?-and selected her nightwear. When he turned back, Fuyuki was already undressed with her back turned to him. Waist-long purple orchid hair fell upon her naked back making it quite a tempting sight. Quickly, so she did not become cold, he dressed her and laid her with a blanket drawn on top of her form.

"Are you busy right now, Naruto-sama?" sleepily she asked.

"I have something to do later my princess, why?"

Even half asleep, Fuyuki knew that this referred to a mission that he was assigned to do. She knew not for whom was her most precious person doing these missions for but she was thankful all the same. If it were not for this person, she would not have met the man she would love and live for.

"If you are not busy Naruto-sama, would you sing me a lullaby until I fall asleep?"

Hope shone in her sleepy eyes as she requested this of him. In all honesty, in front of such an adorable sight, he would be-no, he was unable to deny her anything.

"Gladly, My Beloved Princess."

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

"The moon is beautiful tonight, won't you say so?"

Tenryo Yamamoto stated as he looked up at the moon with a sake cup in hand. It was true, the view of the moon from the garden with the scattered Sakura petals was a sight to behold. There was no reply to his statement which he did not mind.

"You have no need to worry. I have sent my guards to leave me for the night. There would be no one to see us so you may come out now."

For a moment, it was as if no one was going to come when suddenly the wind blew and the old Daimyo had to close his eyes lest dust blind him. When he opened them, he saw the one he had been calling out to sitting beside him drinking sake as if he had always been there. Maybe he _had_ always been there, he just did not allow anyone to see him.

"Hmhmhm, did you enjoy spending some time in my granddaughter's bedroom, Naruto-kun?" a teasing lilt had found its way into the Daimyo's voice as he truly looked at the young man before him. He had only seen him a week before and yet it seemed as if he had matured greatly in such a short amount of time.

Such growth… one would either call this one a genius or an anomaly or abnormality.

Naruto had heard the teasing and joking lilt so he was not insulted in the least at the insinuation-not that he would have minded either way, mind you. Instead, he replied in a tease of his own.

"Of course. Any time spent with my precious princess is time well spent. Why, next time you see me, I may not come out of her room for a whole night, Daimyo-sama."

A short laugh was shared between the two of them before a silent atmosphere came upon them. Now that the short greetings were shared, it was now time to proceed with the main topic.

The mood soon became tense yet the smiles on both young and old did not disappear.

-It was Naruto who broke this tense silence.

"How long have you known?"

"Known what, young man?" Yamamoto raised an eyebrow in response.

"Don't joke with me, old man," a deadly glare was sent towards the old ruler. "How long have you known that Fuyuki was my sister?"

"-"

The old ruler of Hi no Kuni gave no response as he stonily gazed forward.

"-Do you know how long I've been at this seat of power, Naruto-kun?"

What does that have to do with my question, Yamamoto heard his companion question yet he ignored him all the same.

"I have been ruling this country close to sixty years already. In that time, I have faced a lot of threats to my country before, both internal and external. To do this, and still lead my country effectively, it requires no small amount of experience and sharp cunning and wit.

"I know all the secrets that my country has; both the good and bad. I know of all the events that has happened in my nation, and out of it too if it proves to be useful."

It was at this point that Naruto saw the face buried underneath the friendly exterior that the king of his country displayed. This is when he understood and saw for himself the pragmatic and ruthless ruler of his nation that has led it through two world wars and their fallout and made his nation all the way better for it. This was the true Tenryo Yamamoto, Daimyo of Hi no Kuni which housed the strongest Military Village of the world: Konohagakure no Sato.

The stone cold glare and empty eyes that were directed at him were both awe inspiring and terror-inducing.

"To answer your question then, Naruto-kun: I have known that Fuyuki was my daughter's Illegitimate child since the very beginning. I have known since the night that the Yondaime of my hidden village stayed the night here that my daughter was pregnant with his child."

Such an answer did not surprise him nor did it shock him. Naruto had expected such from the old ruler since he saw his true face.

"…I see." he said as he closed his eyes and sipped on the sake in his cup.

"Oh? Are you not surprised, Naruto-kun?" The old Daimyo questioned as he too, sipped on sake.

"No, I'm not. I have already expected this from you." Naruto glanced from the side of his sight.

"Such understanding. So what will you do now, that my daughter and your father's sin is right in front of you?" the Old Ruler asked, curiosity lacing his entire being.

"SHE IS NOT A SIN!" Naruto shouted shocking his Daimyo.

In all the time that he had known the little dragon, he had never once raised his voice or act so emotionally. Seeing him like this was like seeing that rare Blood Orchid of the south-of which there had only been two recovered specimens.

"The act of my father and Inori-hime may be a sin but Fuyuki's life is not a sin!"

With all his being, he glared at the Old Ruler for calling his precious Fuyuki(Miyuki) a wrong existence.

The tense atmosphere between them tensed even further as young and old looked into each other's eyes.

"-"

"…"

"…"

"-Tch. Forgive me for my outburst. It was my mistake."

It was Naruto who had first broken eye contact and apologized.

"No, no, no. It was this old man's mistake. So please do forgive my words." the Old Ruler replied, sincerity and remorse truly felt.

Just like that, and the tension between the two had lessened and both had to sigh in minor exhaustion.

"I see. Thank you for your understanding, Daimyo-sama." Naruto then closed his eyes.

"But I have to warn you now, Old Ruler, if this information comes to light-and I know that there are more people who are aware of this fact other than the two of us-and my princess is threatened,"

 **Fwoosh**

A powerful killing intent exploded from the young man's body. The amount was enough that even the Old Ruler who had a fair number of assassins sent after him in his time couldn't help but sweat heavily. He was never this affected even by Kage level Shinobi killing intent.

"I will kill whoever threatens her and the source of that threat even if I have to erase the fire myself."

Or in other words: _I will kill any assassin sent after her and their employer even if I have to destroy the whole of Hi no Kuni to do it._

Tenryo Yamamoto nodded in understanding of the implied threats knowing that the young man had enough power to do so if he so wished it.

"Heed my warning Old Ruler, because even if its you… even if you are a benefactor of my mother, I will show no mercy."

With the words said and threats delivered, Naruto vanished from his spot. Every single blade of grass undisturbed and Sakura petals were left untouched as he disappeared. All that signified that he had once been in that area was the still high tension in the air and the single sake cup deprived of its contents.

With his companion gone, Yamamoto brushed his knee-length white beard as he once more looked up at the brightly shining moon and sighed.

"Truly, the moon is shining brightly tonight."

And the moon flashed red, too quick for anyone to see, to maybe signify the oncoming conflicts that would cover this land and those beyond it before spreading towards the world.

Indeed, the moon had never been as beautiful as it was that night.

 **A/N: I am sorry. I have no words to describe how remorseful I truly am for coming up with a chapter and posting it this late. So anyway, I would like to thank those that followed and made this story of mine one of their favorites, so, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! As this is my first story, I am proud that at least some people appreciate it. That is why, please continue to read and follow this tale!**

 **To all new and old readers, I command you, in the name of Code Geass R3: Lelouch of the Resurrection/Revival, Follow, Favorite, and Review! Flames will be blown up with Material Burst. I have warned you.**

 **This is Cielblackblood, signing out!**


	5. Interlude: Between One Will to Another

**Interlude 1: Conversation**

The distant sounds of lively chatter floated through the air, mixing with the various cacophony of sounds produced by the village nearby. People, humans of various races, age, gender, and religion moved about their business, all contributing to the noise made this fine early morning.

Unknown to all, one figure continued to observe their interactions from their distance; mentally comparing them with busy ants.

"It has been at least three centuries now, is that correct?"

A voice previously unheard reached the observing figures ears. It's source was near, and truly, if she were to turn her head, the observer would find out that the source were right beside her. The voice was feminine as it was raw, primal and powerful.

"Three centuries since the known world's destruction and its subsequent rebirth, isn't that right Alaya?"

The observer, who was now known as Alaya: The Subconscious Will of Humanity, turned towards the speaker.

It was a woman of indeterminate age. She was beautiful as she was ugly. Kind of countenance yet still came out as cruel. She was young as she was old. This was a woman full of contradictions yet there was one truth that could be said about her: She primal, wild, and untamed.

"Yes it has. What is it to you, Gaea?" Alaya asked if in a slightly monotone voice.

Gaea, the embodiment of the Will of the Planet, let out a small laugh as she stepped in front of her once-rival.

Dark hair with a tint of green swayed together with graceful movements unseen in regular mortals. Red bestial eyes comparable only to one mortal God-King gazed at her enemy once upon a time. Stopping three feet away from her rival's seated form, the personification of the planet's will wrapped her slender arms around her shapely waist which in turn emphasized her entrapped bosom within her green gossamer dress.

"No need to be so cold, Alaya." the goddess said, her mouth twitched into a facsimile of a smile while her eyes remained blank.

"After all, you are not the only one who misses him."

It was at this point that the Planet's Will gained a slight bit of emotion in her countenance. It was jumbled and chaotic yet one emotion remained clear: the clear, crushing, longing was enough to maim one's heart.

As though the display of emotion did not phase her-and indeed, it did not-Alaya replied in the same cold, monotone voice:

"What do you want Gaea? I am in no mood for your games."

For a while, Mother Nature said nothing, merely gazing upon the humans-beings she once considered as nothing but pests and parasites-that walk upon her material shell.

"Tatsuya, where is he?" the Primordial of Earth asked softly after a full minute of silence.

Alaya turned a wary eye towards her rival. To tell the truth, this was already an unusual occurrence. The personalities of the two embodiments were never supposed to mesh well together. This was a fact written by fate and set upon by destiny.

It was because of this fact that at the back of the Will of Humanity's mind, there was a sense of disbelief flying around. To have the two of them near each other and for neither to feel animosity or malice from the other for a whole minute is already a miracle of the highest order on par with the Five True Magics.

For her rival to be this way to her, what happened to Gaea after all these centuries that she had seen her, Alaya wondered.

"And why would you want to know, pray tell?"

In truth, Alaya wanted this sense of peace to last but here lies the problem. In any other circumstance, Alaya would gladly answer her rival if only to let this meager peace last for she was so very tired of all their needless arguments and fights but the question was about Tatsuya, and she had declared him her champion those three centuries ago.

"Please, tell me where he is." Gaea looked at her rival in the eye as she pleaded.

Alaya was stunned. In all her years of existence she had done and seen a lot of things so she was not one to be left in shock but this one is an exception. She had heard her rival plead-dare she say it?-, the Earth Mother, beg. To her! To her, of all people! In all of eternity, Humanity's Will had never expected her former enemy to beg to anyone, least of all, to one she considered her mortal enemy.

"I don't know," the Will of Humanity lied. "He may have reincarnated already for all I know."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Gaea all but screamed to the heavens, huffing and puffing all the way. Her shout had startled Alaya but the Earth Mother paid no mind continuing her speech instead.

"A soul like his has surely been removed from the wheel of reincarnation and moved to the Throne of Heroes! His Legend would ensure that!"

Gaea stated as her hands covered her face. She knew that her former rival had lied to her. The two of them were familiar of the Throne of Heroes and its concept. Though the correct term to call it would be the Throne of Legends and Legendary Spirits seeing as it not only kept records of heroes but those of villains alike.

Gaea knew of the stories and legends that spread after Tatsuya's demise.

The King that appeared and started in the Far East whose unmatched power allowed him to rule unquestioned. He was the Magic King who knew all magic and sorceries who used it to better his nation and protect it from threats everywhere, but then came the day that his Princess, his Queen died by the actions of all that he opposed; his Divine Magic too late to prevent her death. It was the result of a plot by those he defeated and in his mercy let live.

It was then the story and legend turned tragic and for the worse. In his grief, the Far East Nation's beloved King declared war on the world in revenge for the Queen who died in his arms. Friends and comrades came and answered his call: the Unwavering Light of the West whose Spear of Light cuts through all, the Elfin Princess of his Nation who had never once missed-it was her who first answered his call-, the Swordswoman whose sword crashed from the Heaven's like Lightning, the Fortress whose Invisible Blade unfailingly cut through his foes, the Greatest Sage of Heaven and Earth came with Girl of Crystal Eyes to assist their closest friends, the Unbreakable Shield of the Far East came next, the Wielder of the Three Blades of Douji-giri, the Greatest Mind of the World, the Crimson Prince and his Cardinal, all famous and all well-known came to his side.

From all over the world, friends he had once made and fought with answered his call as he went to war. The King fought on the front lines decimating his enemies while friends and family alike died by his side. Day by day, the King was overcome with grief that managed to pierce his hardened and broken heart. When he had all but conquered the world, the only one remaining who stood by his side was the Unwavering Light of the West, who unknown to him loved the King with all her soul.

The King had won and conquered the world, erasing all those who were the cause of his beloved Queen's death. He had then hastened his return to his nation with the Unwavering Light by his side, but the tragedy and troubles that plagued him had still not end. When he had returned, he found his beloved Nation torn in two; they were in Civil War. One side favored his traitorous Aunt while the other remained loyal to the crown.

The Unwavering Light, seeing the Young King in distress, led his loyalists to battle. Battle after battle, fight after fight, skirmish after skirmish was won with her on their side and her spear at the tip.

Then misfortune struck. The Traitorous One herself entered the battlefront. Wielding magic similar to her King, the Traitorous One decimated the army she led. The retreat was announced and the Unwavering Light of the West remained to fight the approaching and chasing army. For three days and three nights she fought to exhaustion but the battle was lost when her Spear, the symbol of her Promised Victory was stolen from her grasp by the Traitorous One and was used to strike her chest and pinning her to the ground as she remained standing.

This was the scene that was beheld by the King as he came to aid his only remaining ally and friend. By the time he had arrived, the Traitorous One and her army retreated as soon as she sensed his approaching presence.

Grief and loss, these were the two emotions that were in the Young King's mind and heart. In the end, grief gave in to anger and loss gave in to hatred. With this, the King of the End unleashed his Magic and chased the opposing army. With himself alone, he laid waste to his enemies erasing them from existence with his magic.

Then he faced his only remaining foe. She was once his favorite aunt, one that he felt he could sympathize with and though cold, he continued favoring her with many things and giving her his trust, yet here she was now, standing in front of him with anger clouding her countenance. What he did not know was that she had loved him for a long time and had hated his Queen for claiming his heart. Hatred for his Queen turned to resentment to the one she once called her love for not returning her advances.

They clashed and for seventeen days and seventeen nights they fought with the intention to end the other. Then, the Traitorous One struck and gravely wounded the King somehow rendering the magic which made him heal from all wounds and made him a pseudo-immortal useless. The King struck back and ended the Traitorous One's life but his wound was fatal. A soldier, one of the few remaining Generals of his army with the rest of his men came to his side to assist him. The General came to him and carried him in his arms away from the battlefield while his remaining men covered their back.

This General, the one known as Range Zero, set his King upon the distant and vast forests that covered Mount Fuji who was untouched from the battles waged.

The King of the End knew his end was coming so he ordered his General to return to the remnants of his nation as he named his only son his heir and to throw the Spear and the weapons of his departed friends to the top of Mount Fuji and to its depths below so that none may claim them. Two times the King ordered, two times the General defied but on the third time he had finally done what his King had ordered him to do. It was then time to fulfill his King's remaining order and proclaim the King's departure and the ascension of his heir.

As soon as the people heard this, they proclaimed him lying. They believed that the King was merely wounded and was resting in a faraway land to recuperate. They believed that the King would return when the time came for a new era to arise, and the King would then come to end the current era.

Thus, the legend of the King of Never-ending Reign came to be.

This was how the legend of the King of the End came to existence.

Alaya knew of this legend so in turn, she too knew of his place in the Throne of Heroes.

"But he wasn't there!" Gaea shouted. "I found his legend as the 'King of the End' but he himself wasn't there!"

Removing her hands from her face, Gaea approached her rival…

-and kneeled in front of her.

She knelt. Not minding that her green gossamer dress was dirtied, the Earth Mother knelt. This shocked Alaya to her core. Since her conception, she and Gaea had been mortal enemies, always seeking the other's blood, and though they may not show it, they both respected each other. They each have their own pride, so to see Gaea kneel to her, it confused her, shocked her and most importantly, it intrigued her.

Just what drove her to do this?

All for just one human?

Granted he could hardly be called human anymore especially after all he had done, but still…

"Please, I beg of you Alaya. I know you had a hand in his disappearance. I know you aided him and, and… Miyuki," it was surprising for Alaya to hear the sheer amount of poison and vitriol in her rival's voice yet she did not say anything and continued to listen.

"So please, tell me where Tatsuya is."

After her passionate begging, the place they were in, descended into silence. All creatures listened in rapt attention for the Will of Humanity's answer to their creator's pleas.

"…"

"-"

The silence that descended had went on for a minute, then to ten, then to twenty. Nearly 35 minutes passed and the silence was agonizing.

"I see, so you won't tell me."

In a bitter voice Gaea stated. Bitter resentment threatened to enter her mind but she pushed it down as she stood up. She did not know what the circumstances between her rival and her target was but she would not push her questioning. Though they were not many nor well-known, but there are ways to force beings like her and Alaya into compliance.

Alaya watched her rival stand up and she saw the look in her eyes. It was a dead look that in her opinion did not suit her rival. Such a dead look also reminded her of the look in her champion's eyes the last time she saw of him.

She also remembered that radiant smile that appeared on his face and Alaya felt her cheeks heat up. Until now, it was still one of the most beautiful sights that she had seen.

 _Humanity truly looks good on him_ , she thought once more.

The dead look continued to persist on her rival's façade as she turned to leave and she could not take it anymore.

"Wait," she said. "Tell me, why do search for the King of the End, for Tatsuya so? Tell me."

Alaya saw Gaea stand tall and look at her.

 _That look again,_ she had once seen that look on her champion now, she was seeing it on her rival's face. The Earth Mother stared at Alaya and looked as vulnerable as any children at that moment, unlike how she appeared all those years of her existence.

Alaya knew that look just as she knew that she was frozen stunned. Gaea's eyes misted with unshed tears and her face said it all, painful longing and love.

"Is it wrong?" the Greatest Entity on Earth asked with a shaky voice.

"To try and find my love to follow him wherever he is and spend the rest of eternity with him?"

Once again, this shocked the personified Will of Humanity. Gaea and Alaya, they were two beings who were formed from concepts.

They were not meant to be human.

They were not meant to have emotions.

They were not meant to fall in love.

So to see the obvious signs of love on her rival's face had to question herself if she too were beginning to show emotions, seeing as right now, The Will of Humanity was experiencing sympathy.

 _Ah, there is no helping it_ , she thought. It seemed that whenever something concerned the King of the End, everything just had to be thrown out of the window.

Common sense by Conceptual Beings included. Really, it was to be expected of someone born under the Universal Rune of Fate/Devourer.

"I see, then, come." Alaya sighed as she stood up from her seated spot.

Well, she had done it once for her champion, so why not include her rival to the list of people she helped right?'

"What?" Gaea asked, stunned.

"Come. We are going to prepare for the transference." Alaya said not paying attention to her rival.

For beings of a Higher Dimensional Plane such as Gaea, herself, or the Ultimate Ones, using the Five Great Magics were within their reach. Such miracles were on the same Plane of Existence of themselves that is why they can be destroyed or hurt by these miracles even if they could not be harmed by Concepts such as Death.

Even if it would not be easy, using the Kaleidoscope would still be feasible by a being of her level.

"Then truly, you would-?"

Gaea's voice had a trace, no it was more than a trace, of hope. Even if she could not see her, Alaya could simply imagine the same hopeful look on Tatsuya's face on her rival's.

"Yes, truly I would. Now come, Gaea, let us-"

Alaya could not finish her sentence for as soon as she said yes, Gaea launched herself towards her rival and gave her the biggest hug that she could.

"…"

Alaya was speechless. This was not a reaction she had expected. Her mouth flapped open and close uselessly and she could not think of anything to say.

"Maya. Yotsuba Maya." Gaea's voice penetrated her stunned consciousness. "That will be how I will be known from now on."

As she stepped away from her stunned rival, Gaea shifted her form. It was one that she was familiar with in the way that she wore that form for more than three decades.

This form she wore, it was what one could call the paragon of Divine Beauty. It was one that would have made Gods, if they still existed with enough power to call forth a corporeal form, to descend from the heavens and court her until she said yes. This was a beauty that would have made Goddesses jealous and curse her with all their power.

Dark hair possessing a purple tint flowed freely in wavy tresses as they stopped near a perky rear. Eyes that were more of jewels than mortal eyes glittered in a crimson spark. Her face, as was stated, was one of divine beauty with her perfectly, symmetrical facial structure and great aesthetics. Her smile was one that pronounced pure euphoric delight but no matter how innocent it may seem, it still showed that great seductively that would have had men following her on sheer principle. Her body, desired by both men and women alike, was clad no longer in a green gossamer gown but a purple Victorian inspired dress that showed a deep cleavage and black frills.

"Very well," Alaya stated as she recovered her composure. "let us go, Yotsuba Maya."

"Hai!"

With a blossoming smile and a light heart, The Personification of Earth, Yotsuba Maya, nearly skipped after her former rival.

 _Soon. Very soon, we will be together again, My Beloved Tatsuya. And this time, I will not let Miyuki nor anyone else take you from me._ And this was how the Earth Mother came to the Elemental Nations to meet with her beloved King of the End.

This is the story of how the Queen of Treachery went off to meet King of Never-ending Reign.


End file.
